Just Misunderstood
by WreckedProgress
Summary: Selfishness can be a blessing. For her, it wasn't, not at first anyway, but in time it changed. She met and trusted a snake charmer, he was lost and defeated, suffocating in the dark he called his home. But she became a glimmer of light in that darkness, one that he clung too long after she was gone, but she made sure that he was never alone again.
1. Lucy

**Just Misunderstood**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Lucy**

 **This is a fairly slow burn romance, and it takes place after the Tower of Heaven Ark. Also I have switched some of the arks in the story line. Please enjoy**

* * *

Lucy took a deep breath as she lifted her hand. She took a small moment to stare at the dark mahogany of the tall door and she had to close her eyes. She willed herself to move, to walk away and just forget about the offer she had gotten, but she knew she couldn't. With her eyes still clenched shut she knocked on the door, once, twice and a third time. It seemed like centuries or seconds before she heard his muffled words. Lucy shook any sadness from her features and opened the heavy door, "Hello Master. May I have a second to speak to you?" She asked softly.

"Certainly, you're always welcomed," he answered as he gestured to the chair in front of his desk. Lucy closed her eyes and opened them again, not letting anything other than happiness show on her face. She quickly made her way across the room and sat down, instantly putting on a smile. She felt happy, but she couldn't help feeling scared and worried. She played with the lining of her skirt and didn't meet his gray eyes.

"I have some… news," she paused for a moment, "i have received an invitation to start training."

"Well that's fantastic! From who?" He asked as a proud smile crossed his face.

Lucy cringed slightly and looked away, "The Spirit King, he wants me to stay and train with him for three day."

His eyes widened as he realized what it meant. Him, being a Wizard Saint his knowledge was extensive, even with the other worlds. "For how long?"

"Three days," she whispered.

"Nine months?" He quietly spoke, as if speaking it too loud would make the news even worse, "What are you planning to tell the guild?" He asked pulling out a thick folder from his desk.

"The truth," Lucy said. She had considered lying and saying she was going on a solo mission because she felt her friends would be hurt that she didn't ask on of them to train her. But she realized that they would probably come looking for her soon enough. "You guys are my family. You deserve the the truth."

"But why must you leave? There are plenty of people here that could train you," he asked slowly, desperation clear on his face.

"The spirit world has a heavy atmosphere. I will benefit more from training there, my magic is everywhere there, I believe I will learn new ways to learn it. Especially with all my spirits , with the King himself inviting me I didn't really see how I could refuse."

"Those are good reasons, I suppose. But you must realize that your team, the whole guild for that matter, will not let you go without putting up a fight," he stood up and walked to the door. "So, would you like to tell them or should I?"

"I will but feel free to help me out," she answered. She took a deep breath and walked out to the second floor railing. Leaning against the railing she looked down at her family. She wondered how much she would miss. How much they would grow. How much their magic will grow. She wondered if going to train would even be worth missing nine months of their lives.

 _-Of course it's worth it-_

She would be useful to her friends. She could protect everyone. She had been able to nothing when her father hired Phantom Lord. She had helped in the Tower of Heaven but Juvia had been there with her. She was getting tired of being the 'Damsel in Distress'. It was now her responsibility to help her friends, to make sure she could protect them in the same ways they had protected her.

"Listen up!" Master roared, the guild took a second to settle but then they were all standing there. Waiting. Listening. She was actually quite surprised, her guild could hardly focus. But now she could see every eye color, that shone in that room. Green, blue, brown, yellow, red. All her friends waiting for her to say that she was leaving them for almost a year.

Her mouth opened but no sound came out, a strangled sob left her throat and she turned around to cover her face. Master's eyes shone with grief and silent love.

"Lucy is leaving us," his voice was strong, like he was trying to hide reality, like he was afraid if it got a weaker he would break slowly. He held his hand up as many shouts resonation around the guild. Yells of protest and annoyance.

They quieted down again, "She has accepted an invitation from her King himself. It is a true honor and we should all be very proud that our little Lucy has come this far."

"Master what is going on?" Natsu shouted from the bar, "Please just explain?!"

Lucy shook her head slowly and covered her face, with sadness or plain embarrassment she wasn't sure. His face became a mask of bitter pain. "She is leaving to train with her spirits, in their world."

Natsu raised his eyebrows and shrugged, "Alright? That's awesome but why are you so upset Luce?" He called up happily.

"She will be there three days, but as many of you know time flows differently in the celestial world. Three days for them is nearly nine months here." Master physically flinched at the uproar that sounded from his children.

Erza stood so violently that her stool flew to the ground, "No! I will not allow this!"

"Nine months!? That's almost a whole year! Come on Luce, just train here!" Natsu shouted. Several other yells of complaint drowned the silence that was just suffocating them all.

"Shut it!" Master yelled. "Lucy has made a choice, she will be leaving. But the question is when," he said looking at Lucy pointedly.

"Loke had left this morning to inform the King of my answer, I should be leaving," she looked down, not wanted to see her families sadness, "Now," she whispered.

The guild grew silent, they all stood in a common sadness and bitterness. They need to say goodbye, they needed days and weeks to plan a goodbye, throw a party, accept the fact that she would be leaving. As they stood there looking up at her with shock a brilliant magic circle appeared under Lucy. And a booming voice seemingly shook the entire world.

" **Lucy Heartfilia, human girl. You have accepted my request for you to join us here. I shall have you come immediately. For bringing a human here is prohibited, so we must hurry."**

Lucy gasped and looked down as the magic circle expanded and grew brighter. Words left her mouth in rushed goodbye, but all they heard was a cut off farewell from their beloved princess.

A bright light blinded them all for a matter of seconds as Lucy was pulled into the Spirit World. The guild stared at the place their friend vanished. Tears formed and sounds of grief were made. Master covered his face and smiled fondly, "Brats. Do not be sad. She'll be back and when she is I'm sure she'll be stronger than most of you."

~JM~

Lucy opened her clenched eyes and gasped in amazement. She stood on a wide brick path, a starry sky existing around her. Planets and nebulae dotted the atmosphere. Every color she could think of and more was present in the beautiful canvas. Her earlier grief and guilt forgotten. "Princess~" Loke sang behind her. "As leader of the Twelve Zodiac, it will be my pleasure to escort you to the King's Palace."

Lucy could just nod as he took her hand. They approached a gate, it stood high with solid gold assortment. Inside the gate was a swirling pool of blue and gold. Loke gestured to the portal and Lucy entered with no hesitation. Lucy felt a slight tingle and her hair stood on end, but after a mere few seconds they were standing in a courtyard. Beautiful flowers grew on the outskirts of the path and they had what looked like diamonds growing in the middles. Lucy leaned in to look at one. "That's how new stars are born," he explained, "They grow in the flowers and then are release into the air."

"They're beautiful," she breathed.

"This way," he said and led her through the yard. Lucy, too busy admiring the flowers, just noticed the palace that stood tall in front of her. Pure gold and silver plated the exterior of the castle. Swirls of blue and purple lined the walls. The Twelve Zodiac symbols were carved onto the front.

The duo walked forward, in comfortable silence and pushed the gates open. It was then she noticed the golden guards that lined the path they had just entered. Their own armour looking heavy and uncomfortable. She entered an archway path and they came to another set of doors. These standing way above herself, they stopped and Loke placed his hand on the golden doors. He closed his eyes and she watched as her stood completely still, his breath even stopped.

It was suddenly when his eye flashed opened and he smiled at her, "He's ready for you," Loke whispered. He stepped forward and opened the double doors, they creaked open and allowed passage for the mage and spirit. Lucy now suspected that they were in the throne room. The ceiling raised higher than even Happy could fly. Blues, and golds mixed in with purple and silver created the walls and pillars.

Her breath stopped as she looked across the room, her eyes focusing on the giant throne.

Complete gold, and upon the seat was Mustache Man himself. The two silently crossed the room, no one said a word. It was once they reached the foot of his throne he finally spoke.

" **Human Girl. Three days, I will allow you to be present in our world. This world is unlike your own. The atmosphere is heavier and you can be easily crushed, but not if you exist in the Celestial Cloth. And as you see, you were dressed when you were transported here."**

Lucy looked down at her clothes and was completely surprised when she saw the beautiful attire she wore. It was simple style in itself, long and elegant. It was adorned with a black sash around her waist, that perfectly complemented the lavender dress. Diamonds covered every inch of the fabric and shimmered with every movement. She had been too busy admiring the world she hadn't even notice the one little piece of the world she was wearing. "Wow," she said as she twirled. The edges of the dress flying up and it seemed to extend as the fabric spun. The stars embedded within the cloth, shined and twinked.

" **Yes, the apparel in our world is much more… elegant than your own,"** The spirit King smiled. " **But of course you will be given other clothes for training."**

Lucy nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Loke chuckle beside her. "She seemed overly excited, doesn't she?"

" **It seems so. Human Girl, on the topic of training. Are you familiar with Dragon Slaying magic?"**

Lucy cocked her head, "Well, yes. I know two Dragon Slayers."

" **Splendid. Much less explaining from me."**

Lucy shared a look at Loke and he smirked. He then took several steps back and nodded for her to do the same.

" **As you know us spirits have several different forms. And, let's just say, my true form is a… constellation. I to am a spirit and I exist inside my own set of stars,"** he smiled and almost chuckled at her confusion. " **I assume you've heard about Draco?"**

Lucy's eyes went wide and before she could ask exactly what he meant, he dropped his staff. She squeaked and fell back as it dropped roughly to the ground where she was standing. Smoking billowed out of the top and enveloped the entirety of the King. She heard loud clanking and the floor vibrated as his armour fell to the ground. Before long an ear shattering roar erupted from the smoke. Lucy yelped and covered her ears, the roar shaking the very foundation of the castle. She had heard roars like that before. She heard it almost every time she stood beside her best friend in a fight. She heard it when Phantom Lord attacked.

When the roar finally dissipated, she cracked her eyes open, through the clearing smoke she saw an enormous mass. Greater than the Spirit King that had just occupied that space. She flinched as bright lights hit her eyes, but she continued to focus on the sight before her. In front of her stood a giant beast. Four legs, a long broad body. A swinging tail. Two, beautifully gold eyes, meeting her own. Before her stood a dragon. His scales a bright gold, but inside each one looked like galaxies existed. As his strong body rippled the scales shimmered into greens and purples. Stars shone in his warm eyes and nublia danced through his body.

It was by far the most beautiful creature Lucy had ever laid eyes on. She said nothing as she let Loke pull her to her feet. A smile spread across her face as the silence continued, her mind finally registering what all this meant. "You're? You're a dragon?" She asked, her smile growing with astonishment.

" **Yes! Of course. Now! Enough of this, you are only here for three days. We must begin now!"**

~JM~

Natsu's eyes were focused on the spot his best friend was standing in minutes ago. The guild stayed silent. Some contemplating what this meant. Others… not yet registering that their beloved Celestial Mage was going to be gone. His breath halted in his chest and his whole body trembled. What did this mean for their team? Their friendship?

 _-how could she do this?-_

"I could never just leave for a year," he whispered. "Especially without saying a proper goodbye."

"She'll be back. Lucy's strong. She'll be okay," Erza said, not really knowing if she was saying it to reassure her guildmates or herself.

* * *

 **I do not own Fairy Tail**


	2. The King

**Just Misunderstood**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Okay, so it's been awhile. I'm so sorry about that. But here is the next chapter.**

* * *

Lucy yelled out as her back collided with the wall that stood tall behind the training grounds. It didn't take her long to pull herself up again and she cringed as she felt her ribs shift unnaturally under her skin.

"Lucy!" Loke shouted as he ran over to her side. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you so hard."

Lucy shook her head and held her side. "There's no point in training if you're just going to hold back."

" **Again!"** The King bellowed. Lucy nodded, stood up and jogged back to the center of the training ground. The King had Lucy doing hand to hand combat first. It had just been a little over an hour since she had gotten there and she knew that it had already been more or less several days in the human world. But even in this hour Lucy could feel her magic growing. It was almost feeding off of the air, changing.

Loke stood and went on the defense as Lucy threw multiple attacks at him. He was actually surprised on how hard it was. She was fast, but there wasn't a whole lot of power in her attacks. He flinched when her fist collided with an awkward place on his wrist and Lucy saw it. She shocked herself when she reacted and used his moment of weakness to her advantage. She swiped her leg under him and he cried out as he fell to the ground. Lucy jumped on top of him and pinned his hands to his side.

"Ha! I did it!" She said, her smile lighting up her face. Loke was honestly amazed. She had fast reflexes and her mind moved a lot quicker than most people's.

"Good job, Princess." He decided to resist the urge to comment on their position and he let her pull him up off the ground. "You did well. But tell me one thing. When did you get so fast?"

Lucy shrugged. "I'm not sure. I don't even think I'm all that fast. I just, sometimes see what you're about to do. Maybe all the dance classes I had to take when I was younger. I had to learn to read my partner, especially since I'm a girl. The man leads so I was taught to anticipate his movements and follow them. I hated it at the time but I guess it really helped my out now." She grinned.

Loke nodded and looked up at the King, he was still in his Draco form. "My King, I think she ready to learn some actual magic now!" He shouted up so the gigantic creature could hear him. The King was laying down, his body taking up more than half of the training ground, he watched the two fight. He made a rumbling sound in his throat that resonated through his stomach and into the ground below. It seemed like the entire world shook to Lucy, she stumbled and lost her balance.

When she opened her shut eyes the King was on his feet, his face only a couple feet away from Lucy's. She couldn't help but stare into the enormous eyes that almost seemed bigger than her head.

" **Yes, indeed. We do not have a lot of time. Human girl. Dragon Slaying magic is an ancient art, like you know.** **This form of Magic was born over four hundred years ago during the Dragon Civil War. The Dragons split into two factions: those who supported peaceful coexistence with humans, and those who did not. However, the war ripped apart the lands and was locked in a constant stalemate. To end the stalemate, the Dragons that supported coexistence played a dangerous card: they taught their special Magic to the humans they sought to coexist with. Although the war shifted in their favor, the Dragons miscalculated; some of the humans that were taught this special Magic began to slay not only enemy Dragons, but allied ones as well. There are…different affects. But I'm not going to explain those, it happens very rarely and I do not believe it will ever apply to you. No point worrying you over something that maybe never occur."** He finished.

Lucy put her hands on her hips and looked up irritated at the dragon before her. "You can't just leave me hanging like that."

The King chuckled. " **It has only ever happened once, when a slayer used his magic to much. He killed to many. I do not believe that you will ever turn out like him."**

Loke nodded, and clapped his hands together. "Alright then, let's get this started. What spell are we learning fir-"

" **Leo, my friend. Go inside."**

Loke jumped, his hands dramatically flailing at his sides. "But why!?"

" **The Human girl needs to concentrate. You are… not really the best company when concentration is a factor."**

Loke's head hung low but he couldn't really disagree. He walked slowly towards the castle and Lucy stifled giggles as he left. But then she thought, wait. The King said I wouldn't turn out like him, the man that killed many. But how could she… she wasn't a dragon slayer. She stayed calm, not wanting to freak out in case he meant something else. "Are you going to teach me dragon slaying magic?" She asked.

" **Why yes! I am a dragon! What else would I teach you?"** He answered excitedly.

Lucy's head spun. She had thought that he was just explaining the magic, not teaching it to her. How does one even begin to learn magic? She was born with hers. She didn't know one thing about studying magic.

The king saw her inner turmoil and added, " **I promise you, Human Girl. It is not entirely difficult to learn this magic. It might be for you since you have only ever been a holder-type mage. But you will learn, instead of focusing your magic in an object, you focus it in the air."** He stopped and thought for a moment, " **You treat the space around you as the object."**

Lucy nodded and closed her eyes, she focused on her magic container. She willed it to open. She pictured the air around her as a bubble. She pushed her magic out of her until she filled the bubble completely. She opened her eyes and gasped to see golden swirls of magic swimming around her. Blue and purple streaks mixed in as she focused more. She concentrated and willed the different colors to move and swirl around each other. It drained her magic, but it wasn't as much as calling out a spirit. Lucy laughed as the swirls spun around and grouped together, forming different shapes. She made a mermaid, then a lion, she picture dolphins and the blues and purples blended to make the animal. They dove into the gold and lept out again. Swimming through the air. She closed her eyes and pushed her magic out farther, trying to fill in more space.

The King watched, and was amazed. She had gotten it so fast. His eyes widened as she controlled it well enough to form shapes. He had never seen something like that before. It had taken him years to learn to fully control his magic like that. Lucy looked up at the King and grinned widely. She willed her magic to reach him, the swirls floated through the air. The King let his magic surround him, Lucy's light swirls mixed with his. She took deep breaths as she began to reign it back in. Letting it slip back inside.

Then, she realized that was something she should never do again. The magic inside of her began to boil, and a scream ripped from her throat as it burned inside of her. She recalled what Natsu had said about eating his own fire, how it was something he would never do. She held her ribs as the magic caused them to hurt more. Every inch of her body burned and she collapsed onto the ground, sobs racked her body. Her breathing came in short pants, every time her lungs filled it caused her throat to burn. The King didn't have time to stop her as he felt the sudden change in the magic, he had realized too late that she was absorbing it back in. He couldn't do anything as she lay on the ground, her body shuddering unnaturally. He leaned over her, resting his head next to her. Just his head was easily eight times her size and he moved carefully to avoid hurting her further.

It was a while before she raised her head, tears still racing down her face. Every once in awhile her body would shudder beyond her control. She turned to face the dragon and before he could apologize for not warning her she said, "Sorry, my bad. Shall we continue?"

The Spirit King was astonished, she was a truly amazing human girl. He agreed and they continued.

He taught more about the flow of magic and how she could summon it in a denser way so it would cause damage. " **Celestial energy is not like fire, it does not burn regardless. Fire dragon slaying magic is the easiest to learn and control. You do not have to control the density or power of it. Fire is fire, it burns. Celestial energy is more like, shadow dragon slaying magic. I do not think you have encountered that mage yet. But shadows in general do not hurt people, but when it gathers and has the intent to kill it can do damage. Your magic can do the same, it can hurt if you want it to. When you were controlling your magic a little while ago you merged different parts of your magic together to create that one swimming creature. It is like that. You need to combine the different types of your magic together so it can actually do damage in a fight."** He explained.

Lucy nodded, "Okay, so like I did with the dolphin." She held out her hand and focused her magic to her palm, she imagined a fire. A deep purple fire that burned and destroyed. Dark purple and blue manifested in her palm, it didn't look like fire. It swirled and rolled, it wasn't like before, she felt power in it. She looked at the king and he nodded towards the wall she had crashed into earlier. But before she could launch it in that direction, he spoke.

" **Wait. There might be a way for you to control your magic further."** He started. " **Since, your magic originates from an object from another world, you might be able to banish things to different places. It could be possible for you to lets see… tranport things. You proved that you can control your magic even after you have released it."** For once The King did not know how to explain this to her. He looked at her listening face. " **Try this, send your magic at the wall, I am actually not sure how this will work since you are already in the spirit world, but imagine your magic consuming the wall, and sending it to another place, through the spirit world."**

Lucy cocked her head but she kind of understood. "It would work differently since I'm in the spirit world already, but you're saying, basically it's like sending a spirit back, and summoning them again. So, since I'm already here, I could send it to the human world then summon it back here." She said, she couldn't necessarily explain it but she understood.

The King nodded. Lucy looked at the ball of purple in her hand and she imagined a black hole, that would suck in the wall that stood alone. She threw it and it crashed into the center of it. Then, it collapsed into itself. The wall sucking into the spot the the orb had hit. Lucy focused on another spot away from that, and she willed a gate to open. In a flash of gold that usually signaled a spirit the wall reappeared in a pile of rubble.

Lucy wiped the sweat from her forehead and turned to the King. " **Amazing. I was not sure it would work. With practice you could do that to people, without injuring them."**

Lucy laughed and clapped. She was excited. With this, she would become so much stronger. Her breath was finally beginning to even out, and she realized how hard that had been. "That took quite a bit of magic," She mentioned.

" **Ah, yes. The cost of doing that spell is the equivalent of summoning two spirits at once and leaving them open for several human hours."**

Lucy's eyes widened and she shook her head, "No way. I can barely leave two gates open for an hour before getting totally wiped out, and even after it takes days for my magic to fully heal."

" **The air here is different, we have a heavier atmosphere. Your magic thrives here. If you train hard enough your magical capacity should increase exponentially. Even when you leave, it will stay like it was here."**

Lucy looked starry-eyed at the King, "Really!? Oh my gosh! Yay!" She bounced, not even trying to contain her excitement. The King smiled warmly at the human girl.

" **Now I think it's time to teach you actual dragon slaying magic!" His voice rang out.**

It was then that Lucy's bubbly mood turned into a serious one. "If I'm going to be a dragon slayer. I can consume my own element for more power, so what will I eat?" She asked.

The King pondered this for a moment. " **I am a Celestial Dragon myself, I live in a world made up of celestial energy, I can simple inhale and gain strength. But I do not believe that there is any source of celestial energy in the human world. You could consume celestial spirit energy, the leftover magic that sits in the air after a Celestial wizard summons a spirit. You wouldn't be able to do that with your own."** He was truly stumped, celestial magic by itself is rare enough, but mixing that with a lost and ancient magic… it had never been done before.

"But if I was in the spirit world it could work, right?" She asked.

" **That is it! Loke!"** He summoned. In a dramatic flash of gold, the lion appeared and bowed low to his princess and king.

"You called?" He looked up with his smug smile.

" **I need a piece of jewelry, something that will not come off. Something from our world."** He was chasing an idea, " **Wait, get several. For her guild."**

Loke left without a question, but Lucy looked at the dragon and asked what he was doing.

" **Once you master this new spell you can use it to your entire team's advantage. You could teleport them around, use this in battle, you could even teleport them around in battle. If everyone on your team has a piece of the Celestial World always on them, you never have to worry about them not being able to breath while you are using your magic on them."** He explained.

Lucy nodded, "That is a really good plan. If I could learn to control this well enough not to hurt them."

" **I believe you will do well, you have only been here a couple hours and you are already stronger than when you came. Just imagine how you are going to be in three days,"** He said softly.

It was then Loke came running towards them, a small box in his hands. "Alright, I didn't want to pick, I know how Lucy and her team are about little things like this." Lucy kneeled down as he put the box on the ground. She cracked open the lid and gasped. Purple, gold, silver, beautiful jewels and metals were scattered throughout the chest. A small necklace caught her eye and she gently picked it up. It was a simple golden chain with a small dark purple stone. She examined the jewel closer and saw a swirling storm inside. Purple and blue rolling and fighting within the jewel.

"I can't accept any of these," She said, this was to great a gift. She couldn't take any of them.

" **Human girl, you have give many of spirits an amazing home. A place to call theirs. You are kind, intelligent, strong and certainly a pillar of light to all of the spirits. I accepted your request of training here, now let me do my job. This is apart of it."**

Lucy stared at the enormous dragon before her and she fought the urge to cry. "Thank you. Thank you so much," She decided to pick out the ones for her team. She got a flashy diamond necklace for Erza, hoping the requip mage could spell it or something so it would stay on her even while she changed armors. She got Gray a small blue diamond earring that she knew he would put in the unnoticed pierce in his right ear. Lucy had trouble with Natsu's, no matter what, she was sure it would get burned or shaken off in battle. That's when she saw, in a small box within the chest, a beaded necklace. She found a note with it and it read, ' _Durable. Magic-proof."_

Lucy scoffed, that was too perfect. She even liked the little beads on it. There were seven, each had a different symbol. A flame, a screw, a lightning bolt, wind, some type of purple drop of liquid, Lucy assumed it was poison, then one was plain white and the other plain black. She didn't know what they meant, but it was pretty and Natsu would wear it. She quickly shuffled through and got some other things for any other people that would fight with them at any occasion. After she gathered six she closed the box and sent all of it away with Loke. "Thank you again, they really are beautiful," She said to the king.

" **I am glad they will get some use. They have been collecting dust from centuries,"** He said with a toothy grin.

~JM~

Several hours later, Lucy sucked in a quick breath as she focused her magic into her hand and it shaped into a perfect sphere in her palm. She threw it at Loke and pictured a gate on the other side of the field. Loke wasn't fast enough to dodge it and it slammed into his chest. She cringed as his body was sucked into the orb and after a few seconds came crashing through the gate on the other side of the training ground. The gate opened towards the ground and he landed face first into the ground. "Loke! I'm sorry, I forgot about the orientation of it." She apologized as she ran over to his side.

"Well, that was better than when you blew me to bits in the gate," He said, a smile on his face.

Lucy blushed. "I'm sorry! I can't control it yet!" She exclaimed. She pulled him to his feet and they laughed when Lucy started pulling pieces of grass and stuff out of his hair. "Now that you were actually in one piece, did you see the human world?" She asked.

"It all goes too fast. But I think that's where this grass came from. After all, we don't have this type here," He pulled another piece off of his orange mane and showed it to her. She nodded.

" **You are doing much better. Congratulations. Now before we call it a day, I will teach you a common spell among dragon slayers."** He waited for her to nod before continuing, " **The Dragon Slayer's fist, or talon."**

Lucy nodded again. She had seen Natsu and Gajeel use that attack. "Okay, where do I start?"

" **Begin how you would with the other attack"** Lucy summoned the dense purple power and it engulfed her entire hand. " **Now… punch Leo"** Lucy grinned and turned towards the Lion spirit. She ran at him and pulled her arm back, she keep the magical flow to her hand constant and Loke caught her fist with his hand. She rolled her eyes and increased the magic to her hand. Causing the thick purple and blue magic to grow and burn Loke's hand.

He pulled back as he cried out and Lucy focused her magic to her foot, she swung it up and kicked him in the chest. He was sent flying way farther than she anticipated and she screamed as she cut the flow of magic. "Oh my gosh! Loke! I'm so sorry!"

" **Good, the magic will increase your personal strength as well,"** Draco added.

"Princess, geez." He rubbed his chest and looked up at her with a smirk, "You can kick me anytime." He winked and licked his lips.

Lucy rolled her eyes and helped him up again. "Horny cat," She mumbled.

"Only for you, My Lady."

" **Now! You have been here for nine human hours. We have done nothing but train! Get changed, join us for dinner!"** The King bellowed.

Lucy jumped happily and looked down at her tattered and dirty clothes. Then looked at Loke, "How will I shower if I have to keep the clothes on to survive here?" Loke reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny bracelet. She only nodded and slipped it onto her wrist. He grabbed her hand and transported them to her room.

Lucy was about to yell at the Lion for not giving her a warning about the teleportation, but then stopped when she saw the room before her. It was a circular room, half of it was glass and it jetted out of the castle. The glass windows looking out over the edge of the certain floating rock they were on. A king-sized bed caught her attention, giant pillars on each corner of it held lilac drapes, a solid black piano sat in one corner of the room and in the center was a pair of couches and a small coffee table. The room was easily bigger than her entire apartment building and Lucy already knew she was going to love spending time in here.

Loke cleared his throat and said that dinner was at eight, and told her to wear something fancy. He gave his princess a bow then shimmered out of the room. Lucy eyed the clock and mentally thanked the king that he had set up a human time clock for her. But she did see that she had only a little less than an hour to get ready.

She spotted two tall glass doors on the other side of the room and checked each one, she saw the closet first which was bigger than her entire apartment. The closet basically having it's own closets. The little different rooms in the closet was filled with various different clothes, one was formal, another was casual, and the last two were athletic and sleep. At the very end it opened up to another round room. She saw a bathtub and almost cried when she saw that the other door did lead to the bathroom.

"The closet and bathroom are so big that they need to different exits," She whispered to herself.

She looked at the cabinet and saw hundreds of different kind of soap. Different bath-bombs and scented beads. Lucy resisted the urge to explore more when she remembered the time. She peeled the sweat and mud covered sweats off of her and turned on the multi-head shower. She quickly washed out her hair and she gasped as the various different gashes on her skin began to close when they came in contact with the water.

"Oh, the spirit world is so fucking cool." She whispered.

She scrubbed the mud off of her and stepped out of the shower. She wrapped her hair in a towel and wrapped another one around herself. She happily skipped to the formal closet and gasped when she saw the hundreds of dresses. It would take her years to pick one. Then she turned to see one hung up separate, a small note stuck on it. "Wear me~"

Lucy giggled and looked at the gorgeous dress. It was long and a mixture of beautiful colors. The skirt itself was an aqua color that matched the darker blue of the torso piece perfectly. Golden scales linen the sweetheart neckline and matched the gold sash that went with it. An almost translucent blue cloak connected to a separate collar and fell over the shoulders, only to fall neatly behind it. A pair of gloves laid next to it, they had plates of metal wear they would hold onto her arms and the cloth faded into a light blue.

Lucy was automatically in love with it. It reminded her of the Spirit King in his Draco form. She quickly found matching shoes and slipped the dress on. She walked back to the bedroom and found her keys sitting on the coffee table. She lightly touched Cancer's key and her simmered next to her. It didn't take long for him to put her hair up and curl it, leaving her bangs to fall freely over her forehead. She looked at the clock when he had finally finished and saw she was right on time. She pushed open the golden doors to her room and Loke and Virgo stood, both of they dress to the nines. Loke, basically in his normal suit but now it had golden accents on it. Virgo had a full length jet black dress on and it looked beautiful on her.

"Lucy, my Lady, you look amazing," Loke said, Virgo nodded in agreement. Together they took hands and shimmered to the dining area. Lucy would never get tired of looking at the Celestial Sky.

They were outside stood before a great dinner table, hundreds of different kinds of food littered the table. All the spirits were around, all dressed in high-class formal attire. Lucy grinned at the King who was already seated at the end of the table. He had reverted back to his human-ish form and was actual the size of a normal human. Well, kind of. He was still really tall, Lucy could tell.

" **Ah, Lucy. The dress I picked out is perfect. Please join us."** His strong voice said. She walked and took the seat next to him. All of her spirits and even others she had never seen before joined them as well. They all graciously chose seats and settled down enough for their king to speak. " **This is a celebration for the first ever Celestial Dragon Slayer!"**

* * *

 **Okay, I wrote this entire thing in one sitting. My eyes hurt, but I'm so happy that I got this out.**

 **The dress that Lucy is wearing for the dinner is actually based off of an image by the artist Rboz. I would put a link but links don't work well anyway. So type in:** **rboz september 15. (USE GOOGLE)**

 **It's one of the first photos, last time I checked it was the third one. I hope I described it well enough for you to be able to tell which one it is.**

 **THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING. PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!**


	3. This is the Guild

**Just Misunderstood**

 **Chapter 3**

 **This is the Guild**

 **Okay, I'm stretching out the timeline a little, because honestly I don't think every arc happens right after each other. So between each arc there is a few months. Like, it's been 9 months in the human world but only an arc has pasted. Does that make sense? Well, if it didn't I'm hoping this chapter will help clear up any confusion.**

* * *

Lucy stretched her arms above her head as she rose from the bed. She glanced at the clock and was surprised that she had gotten up so early. It was four in the morning and breakfast wasn't for another three hours. She decided she would use this time to exercise a little before her second day of training. She happily walked to the closet and pulled out a black sports bra and a pair of spandex.

The blonde decide to shower when she got back and after she brushed her teeth she was off to the training ground. She was in the wing on the far side of the castle and she just followed the wall to the direction of the thrown room, knowing her way from there. The giant halls were empty and she wondered if everyone was still asleep.

"Do spirits even sleep?" She whispered to herself. When she had been walking for awhile she recognized the hall she was in. It was the zodiac spirit dwellings. Loke had quickly shown it to her on the way back from dinner. Each door was several meters apart and each one had the different zodiac symbols on each one. She eyed the Lion's door and decided she wouldn't bother any of her spirits.

She did know her way outside from there. She traced the golden plates on the wall and found her way to the exit of the castle. The training ground was right around the back of the large building, the training ground was easily as big as Magnolia. She was actually able to see all of it now that the King's body wasn't taking up more than half of it. But for the most part it was just an open field, but to the side was a row of training dummies. Lucy made a note to try her new teleportation spell on them. She decided to start with running, building up her stamina. Seeing how the training ground was as big as her entire town, she thought the running around it once would be a good start. After completing it once she stood in the place she started, her breathing was heavy but she wasn't nearly as tired as she thought she would be, so she thought she should do it again. And again, she found herself in the same position, she ran around this thing twice, that was easily around fifteen miles. Lucy guessed that it was so easy because of yesterday, working so hard, under the heavier pressure of the air, had really increased her stamina already.

"Hell, even sleeping here is exercise." she said. She was so grateful for the healing powers of the water. Lucy would be a bleeding, aching mess, if the water hadn't healed all of her injuries. It had even stopped the aching in her muscles.

She stood up straight and looked at the castle, Mustache Man would probably meet her out here once he was ready to start again. She lightly brushed Horologium key and saw it had been a little over an hour. She thought this would be the perfect time to try out her vortex spell on the dummies.

Lucy took a deep breath as she summoned her magic into her hand, it started off gold then purple devoured it and then it began to swirl and roll. She shot it at the closest dummy and just before it was going to collide with it, she released the magic. The vortex opened just inches away from the dummy and it was sucked into the swirling vortex. She opened a gate right next to her and the dummy fell out of it. In one piece.

Lucy smiled. "So, what's destroying the object is the orb as it collides. Not the actual action of it going through the gate." She said to herself, trying to get her thoughts in order. So, if she ever wanted to use it on her friends to transport them in battle she had to make sure to release the magic before it hits them.

"That would be difficult to control in the heat of battle," She mumbled.

" **I am sure you could learn."** A deep voice said right behind her. She squeaked and whirled around.

"Mustache-Man! Hey!" She giggled.

The man raised an eyebrow at the name. He was in his human form, and he found it quite amusing that he still towered over the small human girl. Lucy grinned and told him about her change in stamina.

" **Yes, indeed. Your endurance should continue to increase. You will be much stronger than when you came,"** He said.

"Well, I'm happy I decided to come. It really is a game changer. Why haven't other wizards done this?" She asked.

" **They have tried. Many have asked and I have rejected them all. None of them have proven themselves worthy. But, you, you have. Human girl, when you saved Leo the Lion, you summoned multiple spirits at once. Your resolve saved the leader of the zodiacs and a friend. You have amazing strength, and every single one of your spirits has vouched for you."**

Lucy's eyebrows knitted together and she looked at the ground. She closed her eyes to keep the tears under control. She truly loved it here, she loved her spirits. Lucy was beginning to love the King as well. As if her was the grandfather she had never met. "Thank you" She whispered.

The king smiled softly at the young girl and looked back towards the castle. " **Breakfast begins in a couple hours. We will continue to work on your dragon slaying magic until then."**

Lucy wiped the few tears that stuck to her cheeks and smiled. "Yes, sir!"

~JM~

Lucy groaned as she shut the heavy doors of her bedroom. Her muscles ached and she cringed as she heard her wrist crack unnaturally. The King and Loke had worked her right up until breakfast. She had barely had time to eat before the Lion and Virgo had captured her and brought her back to the grounds. They continued working, even going through lunch.

It was now late afternoon and they had just given her a small break so she could heal. She quickly made her way to the bath and filled the tub, while that was filling she walked to the shower and stripped her clothes. She rinsed the dirt and sweat of of her skin, then quickly turned the water off to see the tub full.

She turned the faucet off and proceeded to submerge herself in the healing water. She sighed in relief immediately as the hot water soaked into her wounds and soothed her muscles. Lucy stayed like that for awhile. She thought about what she had learned today.

The spirit king had taught her more about the slayer's roar, and how it related to the jewelry that she had received. He had explained that she was welcomed into the spirit world at anytime, and with her new transportation spell she could teleport there. That way she could breath in the celestial energy.

He also mentioned that another celestial mage could give off enough magic for her to inhale. Both were pretty inconvenient but she knew that it was a magic not of the human world. So all she could do was find ways to work around that small detail. Lucy had been able to release the Celestial Dragon's Roar but she couldn't control it at all.

It had started off small and really weak, but as she learned where exactly to focus her magic it got stronger. She still had trouble hitting exact targets but she could at least produce the attack. Lucy sighed as she heard the distant noise of Leo banging on her bedroom doors. She rolled her eyes and wrapped a towel around herself as she stepped out of the bath. She lightly jogged to the door and opened it for the impatient lion.

"Lucy! We gotta hurry. The Ki-" He stopped as his eyes laid on her body. A deep blush rouse to his cheeks as he looked away.

Lucy rose an eyebrow. So the little lion, who seemed lecherous, was actually blushing? She laughed as he waved his hands in shooing manner. She walked back to the bathroom as he walked into the room. He plopped down on the couch, his usual gracefulness forgotten.

"Geez, my princess. Please have some shred of decency." He said aloud.

She laughed from the closet. "You have never complained before."

His blush deepened, "That's in the human world. Here is different. That's like, me going to your home and complaining that your naked. Like, it's your house. But here, it's my home, and beautiful naked girls in my home, get me a little flustered." He almost pouted.

She peeked her head out of the door, "But this is my room."

"I know. It's just weird okay? We spirits have different customs. Since we exist on multiple planes of reality each world is considered something different. The human world is your home. The spirit world, is mine. I don't know it's a territory thing. It's hard to explain." He said.

By this time Lucy was done and she patted his shoulder, "Okay, got it" She said with a slight smile.

The two made their way to the training ground, and continued their training with the King well into the night.

~JM~

Natsu scowled at the Iron Dragon Slayer next to him. Both of them covered head to toe in bandages. They sat to the side as the Fantasia Parade commenced. He ached all over from the battle with Laxus.

Laxus was a monster in battle, Natsu had to admit that and he was actually kind of happy he had the chance to fight him seriously. Even if it was with the help of Gajeel.

He watched as the different floats rolled by and he almost jumped in and walked behind them. He decided against it, he wasn't feeling great and his heart was still aching. He missed Lucy.

It had been almost six months since she had left and he hated that they still had three more months.

The Iron Dragon got up and limped over to the Master's float and the started talking. Natsu couldn't really find the energy to listen in. He smelled Laxus near, he was about to get up to see what he was doing. He was banned, he shouldn't be anywhere near the guild. He had hurt them. But he stopped as everyone threw their right hand into the air, pointing there fingers like a 'L'.

And as if someone was talking he heard, "Even if I can't see you. No matter how far away you may be… I will always be watching over you."

He couldn't help but imagine it in Lucy's voice. He let tears leak out of the corners of his eyes.

That day more than one dragon slayer left that parade with tears in their eyes.

~JM~

It was several weeks later when Natsu sat on the train. He was dreading the trip but he needed to go on this mission. He was headed to Hargeon, he looked at the mission form in his hand and he grew sad. It had been exactly a year since Lucy had joined the guild. He knew that that wasn't the case with her. After all, it had been a little over two days for her.

He groaned as the train begin to move and he was startled at the same time when a little girl tripped and the boxes she was holding in her hands came crashing to the floor.

"Are you oka-?" He tried to ask but had to stop as he felt his dinner come up.

The girl scrambled up and bowed. "I'm so sorry!" She said, her long blue hair touching the ground as she leaned forward. She looked up and flinched as she saw the man keeled over over on the bench. "Are you okay!?" She asked.

All she got was a few gurgling sounds in response.

"Is it your stomach?" She asked as she set the boxes across from him.

Natsu nodded frantically.

"Oh! I have just the thing then. Can you sit up?" She said.

Natsu slowly set himself up and held his stomach as this girl grabbed his temples, immediately he felt relief and he sighed. Soft blue swirls cover both of them. She pulled away. "How's that?"

Natsu sprang to life. "That was amazing! Oh, my god, I feel great! How'd you do that?!"

The girl backed up and blushed, looking anywhere but his eyes, "I-I am a mage," She said in a small voice. "It's a spell."

"Oh so am I! A mage, I mean," He gushed. "I'm Natsu."

She stuttered, "I'm Wendy."

~JM~

Lucy's knees gave out as she shouted her last roar. She watched from the floor as it hit Loke straight on and into a few dummies that were behind him. She smiled as she had finally gotten it. Lucy then realized that she did indeed hit her friend, head on, with all her might.

"Loke! You okay?!" She shouted across the distances. All she got was a thumbs up through the rubble. A gentle smile graced her lips.

" **That was good. You have finally done it."** The King praised.

Lucy breathed heavily as she tried to stand, even with her newfound stamina she had trouble. They had been working her for fourteen hours straight, well she couldn't say they were. She was working herself. Loke and the King had tried to get her to rest, but she needed to keep training. This was her last day, she couldn't waste it. She was already halfway through her third day, and she had finally reached her limit. Going on very little food, no sleep and pushing her magical and physical capabilities, was finally getting to her.

The King walked over and pulled her up. " **We only have a few more hours until you have to leave. But now that you have reached your limit, it's the perfect time to fuse your magic."**

Lucy cocked her head. "Fuse my magic?"

" **Right now you are capable of producing offensive magic. But that is not what your magic was originally made for. It can cause a strain on your body if you are not in this world. So I have made this."** The King opened his and a beautiful purple lacrima manifested. " **This is a lacrima fused with Celestial Dragon Slaying Magic, it will regulate your magic and ultimately make you stronger. The reason I have not mentioned this sooner is because I was hoping that you would not need it, but now I have realized that your new magic will not survive in the Human World."**

Lucy nodded, she understood, but she had a bad feeling.

" **The only way a magic lacrima can be placed in a human body is by force. It can not be magically transported or added. It is a very painful process that will leave a scar."**

Lucy thought for a second. She needed to do this. She needed this power to protect her friends. Even though she hated the idea of a scar on her body, she believed that it was definitely worth it. "Do it"

Loke closed his eyes, he was standing behind the king, his jaw clenched. He looked away. Loke's fists were clenched hard but his sides.

" **As you wish,"** The King snapped his fingers and all three of them were in a different room. The walls were tall and the room was empty besides a small bed in the middle of the room. The King explained how the process would go and how Loke would be the one to actually place it. The King was large even in his human form, he was standing nearly eight feet tall and he didn't trust that he would be able to gently handle the human girl.

Lucy laid on her stomach and crossed her arms and laid her chin on them. Loke stripped off his jacket and threw it on the ground.

"I'm sorry Loke. I know you don't like this." Lucy said. She saw the way his eyes were hard and his face upset.

"Of course I don't like this. You're my princess. But if it has to be anyone, I want it to be me. I don't trust anyone else with this." Loke said, as he rolled up his sleeves and he glared at the king as he pulled up the Lucy's shirt.

The King was surprised. Leo had just glared at him. The loyal, lion did something that a soldier would never do to their king. The Celestial Spirit King figured that the lion truly did not want him watching.

The King chose to respect both of them and he turned around.

Lucy was glad that she changed into a normal t-shirt, it would have been really awkward if she had stayed in the sports bra, knowing Loke would have had to ask her to completely take it off.

Loke pulled her shirt up so it was bundled around the blonde's neck. He pressed a hand in between her shoulder blades where she wanted it. He slowly unclipped her bra and slid the piece of cloth out of the way.

He sucked in a breath as he picked up the lacrima. The smooth magical glass was cold in his hand. He knew that the glass would magically melt, and her body would absorb it but it still irked him that such a large piece of glass was being placed inside of her body.

"Are you ready?" He whispered.

She nodded. They both took a deep breath and he quickly used his magic to slice her skin. Lucy stifled a scream as she bite down hard on her arm. Loke pushed the lacrima into the wound and he watched as the glass came into contact with her blood and it began melting into her skin, the purple and gold swirls traveling deep into her body. A scream ripped from her throat as it burned, the magic boiling her blood. Loke tried to push it in further but stopped when she jerked and more screams left her mouth.

" **Leo, don't stop. That will hurt her more."** The King said, he was by their side in an instant, to hold down the Blonde's shoulders.

Loke shut his eyes and forced the lacrima in all the way. Her screams shattered his heart and when she suddenly grew quiet Loke panicked.

He whipped around to see her face and lifted her head, her eyes were closed and sweat dripped down her face. Loke let out a breath when he felt her heart beat on her neck.

" **She did it,"** The King said. He snapped his fingers and a chalice of water appeared. He poured that on the wound and the skin knitted together. It took a couple minutes for it to heal completely and after it did, all that was left was a jagged scar on her creamy skin.

~JM~

Lucy woke up in her room. She was immediately greeted by Virgo. The spirit was opening the drapes on the massive windows. Lucy tried to move but a loud gasp left her mouth as her shoulders stung. Her entire body ached and she almost had trouble calling out to Virgo.

"Princess, please hold still. You're still sore." The maid said as she rushed to Lucy's side.

She groaned and sat up, "I didn't think it was going to hurt that much. How long was I out?"

"A few hours"

Lucy's eyes went wide and she dropped her head in her hands. "I slept through the rest of my time."

"Yes, the King has told me to prepare an outfit and wake you" She said as she gestured towards the clothes laid out on the other side of the bed. Virgo helped Lucy out of the bed and rubbed water on to Lucy's wound after she had removed her shirt. Lucy automatically sighed as the water worked on soothing the skin on her back.

Lucy dressed and Virgo escorted her to the throne room. The King was back in his normal form and Lucy was glad to see the giant man again.

" **Lucy, you have trained hard. You have grown so much stronger. You are now the first Celestial Dragon Slayer and I have enjoyed every second of your presence. I hope to see you soon."**

Lucy said goodbye to her King and her spirits. She looked around, at the beauty of this world. She would miss it, but she would be back.

"Thank you so much," Lucy said.

"You ready my princess?" Lucy turned to see Loke bowing slightly with his hand out.

"I think I am. Take me to see my family," Lucy's voice was soft and she was so happy that she was going to see her guildmates again.

She grabbed the Lion's hand and they began to shimmer away. She had asked Loke to take her straight to the guild so she could surprise everyone. When she opened her shut eyes she was confused to see an empty plain. The ground was gray and lifeless, the only movement was the small bubbles that were slowly drifting up from the ground. Dark clouds were still in the sky and Lucy looked at Loke to see his eyes wide.

"Loke? I thought you we're bringing us to the guild." She said, her heart was beating hard in her chest as she watched his expression.

"Lucy...this is the guild."

* * *

 **So with this chapter I'm almost caught up with the original. The next chapter will mostly be about the other in Edolas, I've had quite a few people ask me about how everyone is going to escape Edolas without Lucy and Mystogan doing the whole 'magic pill' thing. I hope all your questions will be answered soon.**

 **The whole Wendy and Natsu interaction is a reference to Episode 49. In the manga it's actually qualified as being an OVA, but both of them are called 'The Day of the Fateful Encounter'**

 **Thanks for reading! I do not own Fairy Tail**


	4. Cobra

**Just Misunderstood**

 **Chapter 4**

 **Cobra**

* * *

Wendy walked slowly through the streets of Magnolia, she eyed the dark storm clouds above her. She had been passing through the town and decided to take Natsu up on his offer. She had met him on the train a few weeks ago and they had chatted about Natsu's guild. He had mentioned that his guild was in Magnolia, and Wendy had always been curious about magic. Cait Shelter wasn't a big guild and there wasn't a lot of different types of magic there. So when she had the chance to pop by his guild she couldn't pass up that opportunity.

It was when she starting walking by a canal that a cloaked figure appeared in her vision. She stopped as he stood several meters in front of her, his face was masked but his head was tipped up. As if he was watching the sky. Blue hair stuck out of the fabric and Wendy wondered what he was doing. They were the only two on the street and the light that was there reflected in his eyes. He looked at her and his brown eyes locked with her own. She suddenly felt a wave of calm, she wasn't scared of this man. Wendy saw his eyes widen as he looked at her longer. She then noticed a red tattoo that was just barely visible.

Suddenly flashes of the boy that she loved were in her mind. Her brother, not by blood, but nonetheless her brother. He stepped closer, the tall staffs on his back softly clinking against each other. He continued to walk until he was only an arm's length away.

Then as if he was questioning his sanity he whispered, "Wendy?"

Wendy flinched back and watched as he reached to his mask. His hand lightly began to pull at the fabric when a boom of thunder stopped him. He looked up at the sky and saw the clouds begin to tunnel.

He grabbed her arm, and she squeaked in surprise, "We need to leave," He said harshly. The masked-man looked back at the sky and cursed, "There's no time." He let go and pointed towards a tall building.

"That's a wizard's guild, that is your best shot." He said, he then pulled out one of his staffs. The clouds began to swirl and Wendy stood shocked.

"You need to go!" The man shouted over the wind. Wendy didn't know why she did what this stranger was telling her too, but she ran towards the guild she now knew was Natsu's.

The wind was ripping all around her as she ran forward, the building began to warp and change. The stones were being ripped away and the shingles were disappearing into sparks. Tears pricked her eyes as fear began to settle. She stopped when she reached the building, her hand went to open it, but as soon as she touched the hardwood of the door in warped into nothingness.

Wendy watched as the guild was torn from the ground and pulled into the funnel of clouds.

She closed her eyes as the cold wind ripped past her. It felt like minutes before it calmed down. Wendy opened her eyes to find herself on the ground. She was the only thing on the ground, all around her was gray. Small bubbles were floating into the clouds above. She picked herself up and looked frantically around for something, someone. Every minute she spent looking at the emptiness felt like a hour. Every breath hurt, Wendy could hardly breath as she collapsed on the ground. She didn't know what to do.

"Wendy! Child! Are you okay?" A voice asked.

The blue haired girl turned to see her white cat flying towards her. "Carla! What happened? Why are you here? What do we do?" She asked, her voice rising higher as she ran out of breath.

"Relax, child. I followed you because you can't survive by yourself. I was just a little bit behind you when that strange man walked up to you, then you just sprinted away. I tried to follow you but then everything disappeared and I had to stop because I felt like my wings were going to be ripped off," The exceed explained.

Carla decided to keep the fact that visions of her mission kept flashing through her mind. She was about to ask Wendy why she as here but was interrupted when a pink haired boy burst up through the gray ground.

"Ahh~" He breathed, he struggled to get his legs out and when he did he collapsed to the ground, breathing hard.

'Natsu! You were on you! I thought I died," A squeaky voice said, then a blue cat popped out of the hole that the boy had crawled out of.

"Sorry, Happy. What the heck happened?" He said.

"Natsu?" Wendy said, she stood not far from him. The pinkette turned and a smile spread across his face.

"Wendy! Hey, what are you doing here?" He said as he climbed to his feet.

Carla raised an eyebrow, 'That's the first thing he asks? Not the fact that they were now in the middle of an empty plain,' She thought.

"Nevermind that. What is happening here?" The young girl questioned.

Natsu shook his head, "I have no idea." The four stood there, for several minutes, exchanging no words as they examined the sky. A swirling portal-like hole was slowly growing smaller as they stood there.

It was then Carla spoke. "We need to go into that."

Natsu and Happy's eyes bugged out. "What!?"

"I can't explain it. But we need to go." She made eye contact with Happy and he swooned.

"I'll go wherever she wants~" Happy purred.

Natsu rolled his eyes. "Why should we just believe you?"

Carla scoffed, "You do realize that you're entire town was sucked into that portal? So wherever it leads to, is probably where you'll find your guildmates."

Natsu's eyes widened and his head snapped up to look at the portal. "Happy, let's go." Happy nodded, he would do anything for his family.

Wendy looked between the three of them, "What?! So we're all just going to fly in there, not knowing what's on the other side just because there is a slim chance that your guild is there?" Wendy questioned.

Natsu smiled, "They're my family."

Wendy stood stunned, she looked at Carla, and nodded. Honestly, if Carla thought they should do it, she should. Carla had been her best friend for years. Wendy smiled softly, "Okay,"

"Wendy, Natsu," A strong voice said, they all were startled and whirled around the voice.

"Mystogan?!" Natsu yelled. "What are you doing here?!"

Mystogan stepped closer and removed his mask, and a blue hair fell across his forehead. A red tattoo was revealed and Natsu's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Jellal!?" Natsu and Wendy questioned together. They only looked at each other in shock for a moment before the tall man spoke.

"I am not the Jellal you know. I bare his face, but I am not the one who hurt you." His voice was strong, but it trembled slightly. He saw them both open their mouths to speak, "Please, there isn't much time. Just believe me," He pleaded.

Wendy and Natsu made eye contact and nodded. Mystogan continued, "That thing," He pointed to the sky, "Is called an anima, it is basically a magic vacuum. You see there are many other worlds, the world we live in is called Earthland, and the world where this anima is coming from is called Edolas, that is where I'm from. Edolas is losing magic and the King there is taking it from other worlds."

"Wait, so our friends were taken and made into fucking magic fuel," Natsu seethed.

"Basically, yes." Mystogan said, he then pulled a small bottle from his coat. He looked up at the sky. "Take the bottle, then take a pill each when you get there," He said pushing the bottle into Natsu's hands. "You need to go. Now," He said.

Natsu nodded and Happy grabbed onto the Fire Dragon's shirt. "Let's go Happy!"

"Aye, sir!"

"Carla! We're going to!" Wendy said. Then the four flew off into the swirling sky above.

~JM~

"Loke? What do you mean this is the guild?" She said quietly.

"Lucy we need to leave," He said slowly, grabbing her hand again.

"No! What?" She scoffed, "You're joking right?" She saw his serious expression and tears welled in her eyes. She felt him begin to shimmer them away and she ripped her hand out of his.

"I'm not leaving," She said, she tried to wipe away the tears that were slipping down her cheeks but they were quickly replaced.

Loke stepped forward and raised his voice, "Lucy! There is weird magical pressure here! Something is very wrong, we need to leave! Whatever it was it could come back!"

Lucy shook her head and took several steps away from him. Loke never yelled at her.

His eyebrows pulled together and trembled as tears filled his eyes. He was terrified, the magic here wasn't right, it seemed unnatural and foreign, "Lucy, please. Think of your spirits, think of your own life! Why are you being so careless!" He yelled, he grabbed her shoulder and looked her in the eye. She yanked away and turned her back on him.

"Think about your guildmates! Think about me!" He yelled. "We need to leave." When she didn't respond or move he continued, "Lucy, listen to me. I need you to listen to me!" His voice kept getting louder and louder, Lucy couldn't breath as panic began to devour her mind.

"You are my spirit! Know your place!" She screamed as she turned and swiped her key through the air in between them. He melted away, his eyes wide and his mouth open as if he trying to say something. Then he was gone, only soft golden sparkles were left.

Lucy gasped as she slapped her hand over her mouth.

"What have I done?" She whispered. Lucy sobbed as it hit her, that shouldn't have worked. He had come using his own magic. She shouldn't have been able to send him back, but he had let her. He didn't fight it. He had let her treat him like Karen did.

Lucy fell to her knees as she sobbed into her hands. "What have I done," She repeated again. She looked up to the sky and saw the remnants of the magic. Gray and purple clouds rolling together as they mocked her. They had taken away her comrades, friends her family. This wasn't right, none of it was right. She should have been here! Why could she just listen to everyone and train here? She sobbed again, "What have I done?" She needed to do something, there was a burning pain in her chest, she needed to scream, shout, she needed to take it out

"No, what have _you_ done?" She growled at the clouds. She was seething, and she couldn't stop the golden prominences that floated along her skin. Soon purple flares grew dense around her and she felt like she would burst. She need to get rid of the raging power inside of her. Right now it was like she didn't need to consume energy, all she needed was her power. She screamed a roar into the sky and the purple magic ripped a hole in the clouds, but they quickly merged again. She growled and would have been shocked by the animalistic noise if she was actually paying attention. The scar on her back was aching and she probably wasn't supposed to use her magic so soon after the lacrima was placed.

She didn't really care. A solid purple orb filled her hand and she hurled it towards the clouds. It erupted in the sky and a dark purple dome covered the area around her. Lucy breathed and her power built up again, she ignored the sharp pain in her spine and let loose another roar. She looked down as her keys glew and vibrated against her hip. She closed her eyes and focused her magic, cutting off the flow of magic to her keys. She suddenly felt a sudden weight drop in her stomach as the presence of her keys was lost.

Lucy yelled as the burning inside of her got worst and she couldn't get rid of it. She collapsed to her knees and she gasped as she felt her scar split open. 'I guess it wasn't totally healed,' She thought.

She felt her shirt stick to her body as blood seeped out of the wound. That only seemed to add to her rage. Lucy's magic continued to leak into the air around her and the mage screamed as a ring of golden light circle around her. A beam of light shot up and into the atmosphere, similar to the time when she saved Loke, but then dense purple streaks started to mix into the pure gold. And for the first time while producing the spell, she shouted, "Celestial Dragon's Roar!" The magic left her mouth and exploded into the sky. Tears streamed down her face as the hot rage in her chest was replaced with sadness.

She felt dizzy as the magic swirling around her decimated, and she was almost entirely sure that there was a man talking in her head. But when she turned she saw a person standing there, his mouth was moving but she couldn't hear a word. Lucy noticed his neat gray hair and the tattoos that lined his face.

"What remarkable power," She finally understood the words that were leaving his mouth, she tried to say something back but all that came out was a pathetic sob. Her vision swam and Lucy stepped forward, only to find herself on the ground. She grabbed her head and closed her eyes.

~JM~

Lucy awoke to the sound of hissing. But her curiosity did not get the better of her as she decided to sleep for a few more minutes. She sighed as the bed moved, as if someone had climbed in next to her.

"Loke, if that's yo-" She cracked her eyes open to see a giant purple mass slithering in the bed next to her. A scream was ripped from her throat and she toppled, head first, over the side of the bed. She landed hard on her back and she gasped as pain shot through her spine.

It was in that moment that she remembered everything that had happened, the guild being gone, how she had snapped at Loke, how she reopened her wound. A deep pain settled in her chest but she refused to cry, she would get her guild back, apologize to Loke, and she would rest enough for her wound to close.

As she laid on the ground, her heels still on the bed she realized that she was indeed in some type of infirmary. She remembered the creature she had encountered just a few seconds ago and slowly sat up. She peeked her head over the side of the bed and her eyes widened as she came face to face with a giant purple snake.

"You're bigger than I am," She said softly. The giant reptile laid its head on the bed, Lucy slowly reached her hand out and lightly brushed the top of it's head. The snake didn't move, or make a sound as Lucy placed her entire hand on the scaly surface. A small smile graced her lips when the snake moved slightly against her hand.

It was then that a small movement caught her eye. Leaning against the wall was a man. He was tan and tall, his arms were crossed over his chest. His hair was maroon and his eyes were closed. Lucy no idea where she was, or who this man was. She quickly examined the room, it wasn't like the Fairy Tail infirmary, there were only two beds, and the room was fairly small. The cabinets in the corner were dusty and worn down, the night stand in between the two beds was covered in a layer of dust. Both the walls and floor were made from wood. Lucy turned her attention back to the man, the Blonde slowly pulled herself to her feet and ignored the way her back hurt.

The snake's heavy body made a loud noise when it slipped off of the bed, and the man's eyes cracked open. His eyes were an unnatural purple, and his pupils were slitted, like a snake's.

His eyes automatically met hers, his face was passive as he inhaled deeply.

"You're bleeding," He said, he didn't move to help or anything of that sort.

Lucy sighed, she expected it to be bleeding. She decided that she should take care of her back before she started questioning the man, she brushed her hand against Virgo's key.

Lucy looked back at the man and watched as he settled in a chair that was in the corner. He leaned back and the snake slithered to him and settled itself around his legs. A brilliant light filled the room as Virgo appeared.

"Vir-" She stopped when she came face to face with her Lion spirit, "Loke."

The maroon-haired man's head snapped up and he watched as Lucy stepped back in shock. "Loke," She repeated again.

"It's Leo," He said bitterly. "I'm a spirit remember?" He said his sunglasses concealed his eyes, but she could tell they were filled with pain.

Lucy flinched back as the words left his mouth, "L-" She stopped herself, she couldn't deal with this right now, she loved Loke. He was her family, but she needed to patch her back up before she lost anymore blood, she could already feel the blood dripping down all the way down to her waist. "Where's Virgo?"

He looked hurt, but answered, "She needed me to come, she's with the King and it's important."

Lucy closed her eyes and sighed "Okay. Can you help me?"

"That's what I'm made for," He said.

Lucy fought the urge to cry, she really didn't like Loke being mad at her. "My scar opened up, and I nee-"

Loke grabbed her shoulders, "What do you mean!?" He raised his voice.

Lucy gasped as he pushed on her shoulders, her shoulder blades pushed together. She felt the skin that had started healing while she slept open up again and she nearly passed out. Her knees buckled as pain washed over her.

Loke's eyes widened and he wrapped his arms around her as she fell forward, his hands went to her back and he pushed her down to sit on the bed behind her.

"Lucy! You okay?" He said as he grabbed her face, she opened her eyes.

"Yeah, I just, why does it hurt so much?" She whimpered.

"Because it's magical. It's foreign, your body will need time before it fully accepts the Dragon Slaying Magic."

They both looked when a chair snapped back as the man in the corner stood up. "What do you mean Dragon Slaying Magic? Magical lacrima?" His voice was strong, but his eyes were wide.

"Who are you?" Loke said, he removed his hands from Lucy's face and his eyes widened as he saw the bloody prints his hands have left. He looked down at his hands, they were covered in blood.

"Lucy, summon Virgo again, say it's important," He said. Lucy nodded and pulled her key out.

"Don't ignore me! I asked you a question!" The Maroon-haired man yelled. Lucy flinched as Virgo appeared, the maiden's eyes wide as she saw just how much blood was on the Blonde's shirt. The spirit immediately pulled a bottle of water and gauze out of thin air, and then she pulled Lucy's shirt up and began working.

Loke turned around, "We don't owe you an answer!" He got right up in the man's face.

"Don't test me," He seethed.

"I have a Dragon Slaying Lacrima, it was implanted and then I used my magic too much. So it opened." Lucy answered from the bed.

"Where did you get it?" He asked harshly. His snake climbed his body and settled on his shoulder, making the man look even more intimidating.

"A dragon?" She smiled sheepishly. "I'm a celestial spirit mage, I went to the Spirit World and trained with the King, who doubles as a dragon."

Loke scoffed, "He didn't need to know."

"What's your name?" He asked the blonde while ignoring the Lion.

"Lucy."

He nodded, "I keep track of the Dragon Slayers. Why haven't I heard of you?"

Lucy's eyes widened, "Wait, how many do you know of?"

He rolled his eyes, "You didn't answer my question."

"You didn't answer mine."

"I asked first."

Lucy smirked, "I've already answered a question. My name. It's your turn."

The maroon-haired man scoffed, "Fine, I know of four. There are rumors of two more somewhere near the capital."

Lucy was astonished, "I only know two. Who are the others?"

"Look, I can't hear your thoughts, which we'll talk about later, I don't know which one's you know."

Lucy cocked her head, "Natsu Dragneel and Gajeel Redfox." She said simply.

"Laxus Dreyar, and Wendy Marvel. Now, your turn to answer a question" He said.

Lucy's eyes bugged out of her head. "Laxus is a slayer?!" She shouted. Loke plopped down on the bed next to her.

"You didn't know?" He added cooly.

"What the hell? No?" She slapped his arm, "You knew?" Loke nodded.

"Oh, my god. Fucking hell. Can you guys pay attention?" The man groaned.

"Can you at least tell us your name?"

"It's my turn for a question," He ran a hand through his hair, "Why haven't I heard of you? I mean," He ran his eyes down her body, "If there was a female dragon slayer that looked like you I would know,"

Loke gasped, "This is the Princess of the Celestial Spirit World you're talking to. Have some respect."

Lucy giggled, "I'm not a princess, but I've been in the Celestial Spirit World for nine months. So that's probably why you haven't heard of me."

He nodded. "Well, I was told to bring you to Brain when you woke. But then you were bleeding, then this fucking stick fucker showed up." He gestured to Loke.

"Wait, ignoring the stick comment for a second, who is Brain?" Loke asked.

"I'm done, Princess," Virgo said. Lucy hadn't even noticed that the wound had closed back up, "Here's a bottle of celestial water, please apply it later today." She said as she bowed and placed a new shirt on the bed then started to shimmer away.

"Take Loke with you," Lucy said, knowing she would not get through an actual conversation with this man if the Lion was here.

"What? No!" His voice echoed as Virgo pulled him into the other world.

Lucy stood up and turned around, she pulled the bloody t-shirt off.

He watched Lucy's muscle contract and move as she pulled the shirt over her head, her skin was pale and perfect, then in between her shoulder blades was a long jagged scar. He cocked his head, it was just bleeding a few minutes ago, it shouldn't have been that healed yet.

"You're just one big question, aren't you?" He said quietly. He struggled to hear her thoughts, all he was getting was a muffled echoing. He could feel it be blocked, like something was shielding her mind.

"We'll at least you know my name," She said as she pulled her new shirt down and turned to face him.

He smirked, "You'll have to do a lot more than pet my snake and answer a few questions to get my name."

It was then the door slammed open and a man stood in the doorway. "Cobra. I told you to bring her to me when she woke," He said sternly.

Cobra closed his eyes and sighed, "So, my name is Cobra."

Lucy laughed and turned to the man in the doorway. "Hello, you're the one that saved me last night, right?" She smiled.

He raised an eyebrow, "Saved you?"

"Well, if I had used any more magic I might've died. Also, you didn't need to bring me here. You could've left me there to bleed out." She explained.

He nodded slowly. "Well, yes. I do apologize for not patching the wound, I was planning to do something about it when you came too." He looked pointedly at Cobra.

Cobra rolled his eyes, "It's not my fault. Her fucking boyfriend showed up and tried to go all alpha male on my ass."

Lucy sighed, "He's not my boyfriend. Why does everyone think he's my boyfriend?"

"Cause he's up your ass," Cobra commented.

"I see you guys get along well enough." Brain said as he turned to leave, a slight flick of his head indicated that he wanted them to follow. Cobra got up to follow and made it to the door before looking back.

"Are you coming?" He said, his voice annoyed.

Lucy nodded and went to grabbed the small bag that Virgo had left, she peeked inside to see the jewelry she had earlier picked out for her team. Her expression suddenly grew sad and the pain that she ignored was back, her team was gone. Cobra stood in the doorway, he had no idea what was happening, he hated that feeling. He whistled and Cubellios slithered behind the blonde. Using her thick body she began to slowly nudge the girl towards the door. Cobra left them to make their way to him and went to go find Brain.

Lucy looked down at the cold reptile that was trying to get her to walk and she smiled, she would normally hate snakes but this one felt like a human. A girl just like her.

The Blonde looked up and tied the small bag to her belt, then she slapped her cheeks, "You got this Lucy, just follow the creepy snake man," She let the snake take the lead and followed it.

Lucy assumed that these guys were wizards, so this had to be their guild. It looked similar to Fairy Tail's old guild hall. Everything was wood and the floorboards creaked under the snake's and her own weight.

The hall they were in opened up into the main area. Giant windows on one side of the guild revealed that it was night, and most of the lights were off. On the other side was a group of people, two were sitting on bar stools and two more were seated at the table located right next to the bar.

Brain was standing at the head of that table and was speaking in hushed tones, a girl dressed in white was nodding and Cobra was sitting across from her looking bored. It was then she noticed a guy sleeping, on a floating carpet.

"Yea… that seems about right," She said to herself.

"Ah, please join us." Brain said as he turned towards her. He gestured to the spot next to Cobra. She hesitantly walked closer and the two at the bar turned to face the table. Lucy sat next to Cobra and the snake took her place in between them.

"Welcome, to our guild hall," Brain began. "Everyone, please introduce yourselves."

"Okay, I don't mean to be rude at all," Lucy stood up and looked at everyone. "But why is that necessary? You don't need to house me any further. I'm fine now, I'm healed. And I'm very thankful, but it's late and I'd rather just get out of your hair."

Everyone straightened up, besides the guy on the rug. They all seemed to be paying a little more attention. "Well, there is a reason. I want to know more about you. Please, just answer a few questions." He stopped to think, "As a thank you gift."

Lucy paused, "Okay. What do you what to know?"

Brain smiled, "First off your name, so everyone here knows."

She looked around and all of them were watching her. "Lucy….Ashley. Lucy Ashley."

"Well, Lucy, what type of magic do you use?"

"I am a celestial spirit wizard." She said. Lucy cringed as Cobra looked at her pointedly. She didn't really want to disclose too much information to these people yet. She didn't know any of them. So, she decided to say that.

"I don't know any of you. And usually I'm really trusting but after the few days I've had I really don't think any good luck is coming my way."

Brain chuckled, and a few of them smirked. "My name's Racer, and I use speed magic," A man at the bar said.

It was the girl that spoke next. "I'm Angel, and I'm also a Celestial Wizard"

Lucy perked up, "Oh my god, really? It's been so long since I've met another one," The Blonde gushed.

Angel smiled as well, "Yea, we're quite rare aren't we?"

"Having two Celestial Wizards could be very useful in combat," Brian mentioned.

Lucy thought back to what the King said about devouring left over energy. "Especially with my roar." She quickly slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Oops," Mumbled Cobra. He smirked slightly when she glared at him.

"Roar?" Racer questioned.

"I am Hoteye! You're just as beautiful as a million diamonds!" He said dramatically.

"Hoteye, you're a little late, and we all know you don't mean it you just want a reason to think of millions of diamonds," Cobra said.

"I never need a reason!" He exclaimed.

"No, no. We're on the roar now." Angel said, she looked at Lucy in question.

Lucy sighed and slumped down onto the bench. "Blame, Cobra."

Cobra choked on his drink and coughed out, "What the fuck do you mean?"

Lucy cringed, "I don't know! Hey, he's the one that didn't tell you that I'm a Dragon Slayer."

"What?" Angel and Racer said in unison, they glared at each other afterward but the questioned still stood.

"Why didn't you tell us Cobra?" Hoteye said like he was generally hurt.

"Fucking hell. I can hear thoughts but I don't know what the fucks go on." He moaned.

"Okay. I am a Celestial Dragon Slayer. I trained with the King and he taught me the magic, then afterward he placed a lacrima fused with his magic inside of me." She explained.

"You trained with the King?!" Angel shouted in disbelief.

Lucy nodded.

Brain who had been watching the exchange between his guild and this girl spoke up, "That's quite impressive. You must have great strength." He said. But of course, he already knew this. He had sensed the great magically shift in Magnolia, he was on the outskirts, chasing down a lead on the Sky Maiden. He had barely made it far enough away before the portal sucked the city into the sky.

Then he found Lucy. Unleashing enormous amounts of magic, the power itself was raw and untamed as it suffocated him. He had barely been able to get close to her. Her power was remarkable, and he couldn't let such a strong individual escape him. He knew what he wanted. But he needed his guild's approval, yes, he was the master and he made the final call but he couldn't have a guild member that would be completely isolated by the others.

Cobra eyed his guild master, he couldn't hear his thoughts. Brain brought this girl here and was now blocking Cobra's magic. He was up to something.

It was right then and there that Brain said, "Lucy, would you join our guild?"

* * *

 **Haha. Longest chapter yet. 11 pages and about 5200 words.** **I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but I'm glad I finally finished it.**

 **Expect the next chapter on the 20th.**

 **I don't own Fairy Tail.**


	5. With Friends like These?

**Just Misunderstood**

 **Chapter 5**

 **With Friends like These?**

* * *

"Lucy, would you join our guild?" Brain asked. It was though words that woke up the sleeping man. Lucy's shock was forgotten for a second as her eyes watched his eyes open. His irises and pupils were unnaturally red, chills were sent down her back as he looked deep into her.

"Ah, Midnight you're up," Brain said, he hadn't even looked. "So, Lucy Ashley, what is your answer? Will you join us, the Oracion Seis, or will you decline?" He moved on like a literal demon hadn't of just woken up.

Lucy opened her mouth and no sound came out, she shut it again and looked at the faces of the wizards she had just met. They seemed indifferent, no of them looked angry or excited. Well, except for Midnight, he was just glaring at Brain. His red eyes were piercing and she wondered if he didn't want her to join. "You want me to join your guild?" She repeated the question.

"Why do you say it as it's unfathomable? Do you think we are incompetent? Or are you doubting yourself? Perhaps you are already in a guild?" He asked, his eyebrow raising in question.

"No! Um….I'm plenty sure that you guys are competent, seeing how you guys manage to function with just a few members." She stopped, she looked down at the pink guild mark on her hand, her other thumb ran across the surface and she smiled gently. "And no, I guess I'm not in another guild." Her eyes stung as tears threatened to fall, she blinked until it stopped. "I just mean, we just met. You barely know anything about me and I know nothing about most of you."

Brain nodded, "Well, yes. You make a point."

It was then that Cobra spoke up, "Did your old guild know you before you joined? Did you know them?"

Lucy thought for a moment, she had met Natsu but she didn't know anything about him. He had even gotten her name wrong after she joined. None of them had known anything about her either. Well, at least until Phantom Lord attacked. "I guess they didn't," She said softly.

"Do you regret joining them?" Cobra asked.

"No! Not at all! I loved it there, I loved meeting them all."

"Well, then how do you know that you won't love meeting us?" Brain added.

Lucy dropped her head in her hands. Was there really a reason she shouldn't join them? Fairy Tail was gone or in serious trouble and if she was going to get them back she needed help. She needed a guild. Lucy looked up, "Okay. But I guess I am doubting myself, you haven't really seen what I can do? How do you know that I'm strong enough to be of any use?"

Brain's eyebrows raised, "You don't think you're strong enough? You released an overwhelming amount of raw magic, even I had trouble getting to you. It's messy and untamed but with some work you will be a very powerful ally. You are a Dragon Slayer, and a Celestial Mage, two very powerful magics, when combined I can only imagine the capabilities."

Cobra rolled his eyes, "Just give in Blondie. He's very persistent and he never takes no for an answer."

Lucy smiled. It reminded her of her guild, they were all like that. Maybe she could make a home here. At least until she finally got Fairy Tail back, but she was sure she would enjoy her time here. "Okay, I'll join. I'm sure it will be a pleasure."

"Really?" An agitated voice sounded. Midnight stood from his rug and glared at the Blonde. "We don't need an outsider, we can find Nirvana, we don't need help." He said angrily before storming out of the room.

"Don't mind Midnight. Yes, I do believe we can do it by ourselves but I also believe with your help we can get what we want faster and easier." Brain explained. He spoke again before anyone could interrupt. "Now, Lucy. Where would you like your guild mark?"

Lucy was taken aback, she looked down at the guild mark on her hand and she sighed. Her hand would always be Fairy Tail's spot, so she decided on a place that a few other girls in Fairy Tail had theirs. She lifted up her shirt a pointed to the spot right of her belly button. Brain waved his hand and a lilac insignia glowed and settled there.

"Purple?" She questioned. She didn't mind but he wondered why he chose that color.

"Lilac, to be more precise." She saw Angel and Cobra roll their eyes in unison. "I picked that because of your magic. Even though a majority of your magic is gold or a deep purple, I noticed the beautiful lilac streaks."

Cobra leaned closer to Lucy, "He likes colors. None of us know why."

Lucy giggled, "It's beautiful, thank you."

Brain nodded, and he settled down on a chair that was elevated a few feet away from the table they were at. "Lucy Ashley, there are some conditions. Our guild is looking for a powerful, ancient magic called Nirvana. If people knew what we were doing they would try and take the power for themselves. So you will need a code name, for security reasons. We also need to alter your appearance, not a lot, just enough to confuse people that may have known you. Finally, you need to conceal your guild mark, when in public." He finished explaining and Lucy nodded, all of it made sense.

"Most of our names came from our magic. But seeing how your magic is mostly composed of light Lucy is a good option, but seeing how that's already your name why don't you go for Lucilla?" Cobra added, he was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed.

"Lucillia?" Lucy repeated, testing it out. She liked the way it rolled off her tongue and she decided it would work for the time being.

She said she liked it and Brain continued talking, "About your appearance, nothing major, just maybe magically hair dye and other small things." Lucy examined the ends of her hair and nodded.

"I could do an ombre of some sorts, maybe get cancer to extend it," She thought out loud.

Cobra and Brain nodded slowly, not really knowing what she meant. Angel smiled, "Maybe black? Black ends could be interesting."

"Okay, Angel, why don't you show Lucy the vault and explain to her the financing."

Lucy followed Angel through the back and left the rest of them to talk.

"Master, what are you doing?" Racer asked as he moved to the table. "A new member? We've never had a new member."

"She's a member of Fairy Tail. Well, was I'm sure now." Brain replied.

Cobra sat up, "What do you mean?"

"Magnolia had disappeared, I am not entirely sure what had happened but the point is that they're gone. But that girl. She's powerful, her magic is not of this world and with her connections to the light guilds she can be a very valuable asset."

"Will she bring in lots of money?" Questioned Hoteye.

"Yes, I'm sure. We have a collection date coming up, Naked Mummy, if I'm not mistaken. Cobra, I want you to bring her, but I don't want her to know we're a dark guild, at least not yet. The council is planning something, and we need her to gather information. She was a Fairy Tail mage, which is one of the most influential guilds, I'm sure she has connections with the other top guilds."

"Fucking hell, why me?" Cobra groaned.

"You're a fellow dragon slayer. I also need you to make sure she is not catching on to anything. With you hearing that shouldn't be a problem."

"Well, problem. I can't hear her thoughts," Cobra said as he leaned forward.

"That's impossible," Racer started, "Unless she was aware of your power and she blocked your magic."

"I haven't told her anything about my hearing."

"That is strange, is it because of her dragon slaying magic?" Brain questioned.

"I don't think that's it, that would be a different feeling. I don't think it's _her_. I think it's something else, like a spell, or object." Cobra explained.

"I still want you to bring her on the collection. I need you to field test her." Brain said as he stood from his chair. Cobra sighed and stood with him.

"Will she be staying here?" Hoteye asked.

"Seeing how her house was probably in Magnolia, she will join Angel in her room." Brain answered before leaving the room.

"Fucking hell," Cobra sighed.

"I don't see this ending well," Racer added.

"Once we have Nirvana it won't matter."

~JM~

"Weaker guilds pay us for their protection. So our guild has a lot of money just laying around." Angel explained as she lead the blonde to the vault. "We get paid in jewels, jewelry, magically items and valuable artifacts. We all get a kind of...allowance I guess, we don't really go on a lot on solo jobs. But as long as your useful on our quest to get Nirvana you will get paid."

Lucy walked beside the other Celestial Mage and listened carefully, she thought it was kind of cool how she didn't actually have to go on jobs any more. She didn't particularly like jobs but she didn't mind doing them. Angel continued to explain the specifics and Lucy's thoughts drifted. This was her new guild, this was going to be her new life. Even though she had only been in Fairy Tail a few months she loved them, Natsu had brought her home. Fairy Tail was her home.

But her home wasn't here anymore. It was here, it this world, in that place, but it was now gone. Her attitude towards Loke hadn't helped the situation either, he was her friend, he was apart of Fairy Tail, and she had treated him like he was an object. She always thought she was a loving person, a person that cherished her friends and life in general, but maybe she wasn't. Lucy had gone to the Spirit World for selfish reasons, she had wanted to get stronger. She had told herself it was to protect her friends, but it was really to protect herself. Lucy was tired of getting hurt, the entire Phantom Lord fiasco had really gotten to her. She was beaten because she wasn't strong enough to fight back. Yes, she hated the way they had hurt her guild but she couldn't deny that going to the Spirit World was about her.

"Lucy?" Angel asked but the blonde seemed lost in thought.

"Oh," She laughed, "Sorry,"

"Well, we're here, the vault isn't locked, we're all pretty lenient with money. Well, besides Hoteye, he has a whole separate vault. You'll get about 100,000 a week, but like I said, we don't really care, but 100,000 should cover most of what you'll need." She explained as she opened the door, it wasn't necessarily a vault, it was more like an office. Tall filing cabinets lined the back wall, some were open with papers spilling out. Shelves were against the walls on both sides of the room and they were filled with small statues and glowing orbs. "It's a mess, but it works. The orbs are lacrima with different magics and the little bags are filled with gems. The shortest filing cabinet has our allowances in it." She walked around a big desk in the middle of the room and opened the cabinet, after shuffling through a few files she pulled out jewels held together with a currency strap.

"We'll need to go shopping so I'll give it to you now," She tossed the bundle and Lucy easily caught it.

"Thanks. I'm sure 100,000 will be plenty, my rent was a little below that so I never had much to live on." She said as she put the money in her jewelry pouch.

"Well, you don't need to pay rent here so you don't have to worry about that." Angel said as she closed the cabinet and shuffled through some papers on the desk, "We only have six bedrooms here, so Brain will probably have you stay in my room. Not that I mind really, I do have the biggest room." She added.

"Wait. I get to stay here?" Lucy asked, astonished. At Fairy Tail, nobody ever stayed in the actual guild hall, and even at the dorms, the rent was ridiculous.

"Well, yea. There is only six of us. Seven now. We know a lot of guilds have housing but we didn't really see the point. We've never had a new member before so we didn't have to worry about it either."

"You've never had a new member? What do you mean? You do have six members, I assume Brain created the guild but when did the other five join?" Lucy asked.

"We all join at the same time, Brain made the guild around us. We… were all orphans so he took us in." She explained, careful not to disclose any information that Brain would like to keep secret.

"That was nice of him. I knew he was a nice guy," Lucy said, she followed Angel out of the room and they crossed the hall to another door.

"Yea, most of the time." Angel said awkwardly, "Anyway this is my room," She opened the door and Lucy was honestly amazed. It was beautifully white, with tall windows on the back wall. It was a very large room, easily big enough to put two beds on opposite sides of the room and still have plenty of room for desks, dressers, and a few couches.

She pointed to a corner closest to the door, "I can move the couches and your bed can go there, I have a lot of empty space so we can shuffle stuff around. I do like white but I honestly don't mind what color your side will be. Maybe something dark? Aesthetic, contrast and all that stuff."

Lucy nodded, she could put a desk and a dresser and still have room for a king sized bed, she looked at Angel's bed and loved the tall posts that stood at the four corners of the bed, white lace hung from them and created a curtain around mattress. The entire room had a very clean and light feeling.

"Angel! Lucilla!" They heard, Lucy liked the sound of the new name and smiled. This was her fresh start.

"What!?" Angel yelled back. Nobody answered, "Cobra!?" She shouted. No answer. She rolled her eyes and Lucy followed as they walked back to the bar.

Angel slapped the back of Cobra's head as he laughed, and Lucy earned a glare from the man when she giggled. "What do you need?" Angel asked harshly, she hated when he did that, she knew he could hear her.

"Brain wants you to take her for new clothes and shit."

"I was going to do that anyway. Have you seen her outfit?" Angel said.

"Hey!" Lucy complained, she looked down at her yoga pants and her long sleeved shirt. "Yeah, no. Let's go shopping."

Angel giggled and walked towards the door. "Yea, follow the angel, Cygnet," Cobra added in an almost lecherous voice as Lucy passed him.

Lucy stopped and turned towards the man. "Cygnet?" She questioned.

"It means-"

"I know what it means." She cut him off. She rolled her eyes and followed Angel out the door.

"Hey, I don't have a problem with yoga pants." He said out loud as he sipped his drink.

~JM~

Lucy sighed heavily as she dropped the many shopping bags on the floor of the bedroom. "Who put the bed here?" She asked, she and Angel had just gotten back from shopping and the couches were moved with a king sized bed, the same model as Angel's, in their place.

"Probably Cobra and Racer, following Brain's command," Angel answer as she set her own bags on her bed.

"Oh, they didn't need to do that," Lucy said, she pulled out the begging she had bought. The sheets were white and she had gotten a thick maroon comforter.

"They probably didn't mind, Cobra tries to act all tough and mean but he does little things to help. He probably heard us talking about where we wanted the bed and put it there." Angel said as she began to pull out her clothes.

"Hear us? How? He was in the other room." Lucy questioned.

"Oh, Cobra has magically heard. It's kind of crazy really. But he can even hear muscles contracting and expanding. Most of the time he can hear inner thoughts too." She added nonchalantly.

Lucy stood up straight, "You mean this entire time he could read my mind?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yea, it is really creepy but you'll get used to it."

"It's not creepy!" They heard a shout through the wall. Lucy recognized it as Cobra's voice.

"His room is right next to ours," Angel sighed.

Lucy giggled and began setting up her bed, it wasn't long before the door slammed open, "Okay, I'm fast not strong and these doorways are really small." A voice said behind a tall dresser that was in the middle of being carried through the doorway. Lucy rushed over to grab the other side. They carried it to the wall by Lucy's bed, "Well, that was in the back and it was white so I thought it would work." Racer said, he put his hands on his hip as in inspected the large piece of furniture.

"It's perfect. Thank you so much," Lucy said as she ran her hand across the smooth surface. "You really didn't need to do that. You already put the bed in here." Lucy said.

"Oh, that wasn't me that was C-"

"And he's done here, bye." Cobra appeared out of nowhere and dragged the other man out of the room.

Lucy looked at Angel, who was laying on her stomach flipping through a magazine, and asked her what that was about. "Like I said, Cobra does little things. He gets bored, our search for Nirvana is kind of at a halt, well, at least until we find the Sky Maiden. I actually think he likes having a new member, someone new to screw with." She said, not looking up.

Lucy nodded slowly, these were definitely interesting people. She turned her attention back to her clothes and pulled all of them out and laid them all out on the bed. Most of it was just dresses and skirts, she tried to shy away from her normal style and got several long cloaks that were short in the front and then got longer in the back. Most of them had long sleeves and acted more like a jacket. She put the shirts and skirts in the dresser, and then hung the dresses and cloaks on the several hooks that were on the wall.

Lucy carefully pulled out a wrapped box, the paper around it protecting the hardwood. She unwrapped in and ran her fingers along the lining of the jewelry box, it was a black wood box, with golden clasps holding the lid on. She placed it on the dresser and unhooked the pouch from her belt, she started to put the jewelry inside when a thought occurred to her. She shoved it all back into the pouch and made her way quickly through the guild to see Racer, Hoteye and Brain all in talking by the bar, she ran back to her room.

"Hey, Angel can you come to the bar? I have some things I want you guys to have." When she got a small nod Lucy walked to Cobra's door and didn't even get to knock before he opened it and looked down at her. It was in that moment that she realized just how tall Cobra was, she was only to his shoulders. "I hav-" She began.

"I heard," He cut her off and waited for her to back up before walking in the direction of the bar. Lucy rolled her eyes at the Slayer's actions and followed behind him. She saw Midnight in the corner, sleeping on his rug. Angel was seated by Racer and she nudged him and pointed at the blonde, Brain saw this and looked her way too.

"Ah, Lucilla. I hope you're settling in well enough." He said as he sat back in his chair.

"I am, and everyone has been very helpful," She said sweetly. She stood at the end of the table and looked at everyone, they were all seated and watching her, waiting for her.

She swallowed hard and poured the jewelry from the Spirit World onto the table. She spread them out and made a mental note on who gets what. "I have a spell, it can prove to be very useful in battle if I use it right. And if you all wear on of these." She started. She slowly began explaining how the spell worked. She watched their faces carefully, making sure they all understood.

"So, you could teleport us around in battle by taking us through the Spirit World, and all we would have to do is make sure we were wearing these?" Angel confirmed.

Lucy nodded. "Yea, I'm sure you guys get around fine but it could prove useful. It's also good for defense, if something ever happened, like it did my old guild, I could get everyone out."

"I knew you would be a valuable asset," Brain said, his voice astonished.

Lucy had trouble hiding her blush and she looked down and picked up the diamond necklace meant for Erza and handed it to Angel. The girl's eyes widened and she gasped as her hand touched it. "It's filled with celestial energy! That's amazing!" She exclaimed, her mouth widened into a smile. Lucy smiled and slid a ring over too Racer, it was one of the pieces she got if anyone wanted to work with her team. It was one of the simpler items but it was still beautiful, it was made of gold and was lined with small red gems, which Lucy assumed were rubies but knowing the mystery of the Spirit World she wasn't so sure. Racer examined it and nodded, and then found it fit perfectly on his index finger. Lucy slowly wrapped Natsu's around her palm, she fingered the pretty beads and was confused when she found an eighth bead, she could have sworn there were seven, she remembered all of them beside the last purple one, with a golden star.

"Cobra?" she asked, not looking up from the necklace.

"What?" He asked he stood to look over her shoulder.

"Fire, Natsu. Metal, Gajeel. Lightning, Laxus. I don't know about the middle ones but then that last one has to be me, right? You said you keep track of the dragon slayers," She said.

"The wind is Wendy Marvel. The drop of poison is me and the last two have gotta be the two I heard about." He said, his hand went to his chin. Lucy turned around abruptly and was only centimeters away from Cobra.

"What do you mean the poison drop is you?" She didn't really notice how close she was to him. But Cobra could feel her breath on his neck and he almost needed to step back to stop himself from doing anything he would regret, good or bad.

"Didn't you know? I'm the Poison Dragon Slayer." He let his mouth open up wide enough for her to see poison drip from his fangs and down his mouth.

"What are you a vampire?" Angel laughed.

"Shh… I think he's trying to be cool," Racer whispered, everyone still heard it, though.

Cobra rolled his eyes and wiped his mouth, "I hate both of you."

"Why didn't you tell me that you're a slayer?" She huffed.

"You didn't ask. But anyway, those beads are symbols of the Dragon Slayers. I don't know why or how but that's it." He said as he sat back down he reached for the necklace and Lucy backed away and held it close to her chest, she was shocked by her own reaction. She was going to give this one to Cobra anyway, she didn't understand why she was hesitating now. Cobra's eyebrows were raised and his arm still outstretched. Lucy looked down at the necklace and slowly put it in his hand.

He looked at her skeptically, after she sat down again he looked closer at the necklace. "It definitely has magic."

"Yea, it's protected. Magic can't destroy it." Lucy said. She took a shaky breath and grabbed the next item, deciding she needed a break from that necklace. She grabbed a pure gold chain and handed it to Hoteye, he looked happy enough with it as he pranced around holding it up to the gods.

She looked at Brain who looked content sitting there watching his guild banter, she placed a leather strap that had a single emerald, she was assuming, on it. He looked at it fondly before placing it around his wrist.

Lucy grabbed the last thing, Gray's sapphire earring. She looked towards Midnight, who was snoring softly and walked around the table to get to him.

"Uh, be careful, Midnight's kind of crazy," Angel said.

Lucy squatted down and gently grabbed his beaded hair, and laced the earring in between the beads.

"He's going to cut her hand off," Cobra decided. Lucy rolled her eyes and pulled away, examining the beautiful gem in his hair.

Everyone was quiet as she walked back to the table. "Why so serious?" Lucy asked with a small smile.

"We're just shocked you're alive," Racer said.

"Fucking hell, why do you have all of your limbs?" Cobra asked in disbelief.

Lucy rolled her eyes again and plopped down next to Cobra.

"Recherché," He said sarcastically.

"Recerché?" She asked, wondering why he chose that word.

"It means-"

"I know what it means."

"I don't," Racer spoke up. "I'm incredibly fast, but I don't speak French."

"Why did you say that like people who are fast usually know French?" Angel questioned.

"Because they do," He answered.

"Fucking hell," Cobra sighed. He stood and tossed the Dragon Slayer necklace back at the blonde.

Lucy threw it back at him, "That's yours. You're the only one that doesn't have one."

He raised an eyebrow, "You don't."

Lucy smiled and pulled hers out of her shirt, Virgo had slipped it on her before she had left the Spirit World. The black string held the pretty perfect orb, magic swirled and rolled inside.

She took it off and held it up for him to see, "It's cool it's it?"

' _Would he think it's cool? I can't read this guy. He reminds me a lot of Laxus or Gajeel.'_

Cobra's eyes widened as he heard her thoughts. He snatched the necklace and looked at it closer, this was the object that was blocking his magic. He couldn't sense anything coming from it, which was weird. Anything that was strong enough to block his magic should give off enough magic for him to sense.

"Cobra?" Lucy questioned.

"This is the reason why I can't hear your thoughts." He said.

' _Aw, fuck no. I need it then. I have too many things he shouldn't hear."_ She lunged forward to get it but Cobra could finally hear her muscles. He leaned back and she fell forward.

"Oh like, what? Like saying fuck? Well, thinking. Awww, the little good girl has a bad side." He mocked her.

Lucy glared at him, "Give it the fuck back, Cobra." She almost growled.

He smiled. This would be a perfect time to ruffle some of her feathers. "You know. What proof have you actually given us that you have Dragon Slayer magic? A dumb little bead on a dumb little necklace? Come on Blonde, fight a little."

' _Fucking dick fucking fuck. You don't know what I gave up for these powers.'_

She jumped over the table and lunged at him again, he stepped aside and held the necklace up. "Oya? You do have some fight."

The others stepped back and watched the scene unravel. They didn't intervene, this was good. If she made the right move she could win Cobra's respect. Hell, she could get all of them to respect her. Lucy's eyes shone gold for a moment as she summoned power to her fists, she cringed as it hurt her scar and for a moment she lost control as the purple magic grew up the length of her arms. Cobra's eyes widened as her eyes flickered between brown and gold. He felt the air around them burn as her seemingly purple flame devoured the space.

Lucy didn't understand why she was so angry, maybe it was remnants of yesterday. After all, her entire family had been wiped out, of course, she still had some pent up rage.

' _This man doubts my power. The power I gave everything to obtain. The power that permanently scarred my skin. The power that I chose over my family! I treated Loke like shit, I betrayed the King's teachings. The only reason I have this power was because of how I treat my spirits. And I treated him like shit!'_

Cobra's eyes stayed large as he listened, and then she disappeared. He looked around, he couldn't hear her, anywhere. He didn't see her do anything either. Then suddenly he felt her behind him, he turned to see her in the air, upside down, her hair fanned out in the space around her, then all he saw was gold as a roar was released from her mouth. He flew a few meters back and cringed as he felt the skin on his forearms burn and peel as he held them up to shield his face. He watched as she fell to the floor, she was breathing heavily and almost dry heaving.

He realized what had happened, she had been in the spirit world without the stupid necklace in his hand. He peeled the burnt coat off of him and threw the necklace in her direction, it slid on the floor and she grabbed it. She stood shakily and tried to even out her breathing, she clipped the necklace around her neck and unhooked the bottle of water from her belt. She slowly walked to Cobra, he was back to not being able to hear her thoughts and he had no idea what she was going to do.

His arms crossed over his chest as she undid the cap, and when he thought she was going to take a drink, she splashed him. The water hit his face, chest, and arms. He was about to wring her fucking neck when he felt the injured skin on his arms begin to knit back together.

Lucy threw the empty water bottle on the ground, "That was supposed to be for my back." She said calmly. She then turned and walked back to her room.

Everyone stood there in different states of shock. Cobra's mind wasn't even processing correctly, Racer and Hoteye were completely confused on how she got behind him so fast without him knowing. Brain was surprised by the girl's bravery. Cobra was a monster, even from his point of view. He didn't take anything from anyone, so Brain was pleasantly surprised that his newest member's head wasn't across the room.

"Okay, I like her," Angel said before following her roommate.

* * *

 **Yay, I'm a day early. This is probably the first time I've ever gotten a chapter out in a timely fashion. So maybe giving myself a goal is a good thing.**

 **Expect the next chapter July 25th**

 **Also, one of my favorite authors is back! She hadn't updated in over a year and she finally did! She even sent me a PM about it so I was very excited to be noticed by my Senpai. Anyway her name is ErzaDreyar, she has 5 stories for Fairy Tail and I personally love all of them.**


	6. Prayer

**Just Misunderstood**

 **Chapter 6**

 **I'm sorry it's a little late, I had a lot of trouble with this one, but it's here and it's got important development in it.**

* * *

Cobra sighed as he pulled his wet shirt off. He looked down at his arms, the only thing the even indicated that he was hurt was the slight red color. He rubbed his forearms and sat down on his bed. The Slayer heard the girls taking in the other room, Angel was saying how much of a dick he was and Lucy was angrily changing her clothes. Maybe he had pushed the new girl a little too far? After hearing some of her inner voice he kind of understood where she was coming from, she had given up everything to obtain her power. He also knew why she had gotten so angry, her emotions were heightened, as a dragon slayer her senses are trying to adjust to the world around her. She was brand new, she hasn't been in a real life or death fight with her new abilities, she doesn't know how to use her new senses. Cobra ran a hand down his face and grabbed another shirt.

He didn't really care that she was mad at him, she could hate him all she wanted. But that didn't mean he would go away, Nirvana was almost in their grasp. Lucilla Ashley wouldn't be around long.

"I don't know why I got so mad. I mean I was irritated and I guess I hated that he had doubted my power, but that shouldn't explain why I wanted to tear his head from his body." He heard Lucy say.

"He tends to have that effect on people," Angel said. Cobra rolled his eyes as he slipped on a new shirt. He heard Lucy giggle and didn't catch the smile that kept on his face.

He decided that if he was going to bring her on the collection he'll have to make up with her. Nothing worst than a bitchy female on the road. He grabbed another white coat, which he had several of and put it on. He whistled for Cubellios and she came and draped herself over his shoulders. Cobra walked up to the girl's room and didn't both knocking, he saw Lucy putting on one of her long jackets and Angel was flipping through a magazine.

"Brain wants me to take you on a collection." He said. Lucy jumped as his deep voice startled her.

Lucy honestly felt embarrassed. She had made a scene in front of her new guild and even made a fool out of herself by transporting to the spirit world without celestial cloth or gems. She nodded quickly and grabbed her belt, with her keys and whip. She didn't meet his eyes as she grabbed a few smaller things.

He looked at her as she moved, she was wearing a black skirt, with a sort of white top that went to her neck, it was shoulderless, and black strap held the sleeves to her arms. The jacket seemed to attach at the back of the top at the neck and then it button around her waist to flow out behind her. He noticed her shoulder length blonde hair.

"You never change your hair." He said simply.

Lucy cocked her head and sighed. "I forgot."

"Obviously."

"Give me 3 minutes." She said as she pulled Cancer's key out. Cobra sighed and sat on one of the couches that were against the wall. Cancer appeared in a shower of gold, and his expression was sad.

He bowed low, "Princess?"

"Hey, Cancer. Can you grow my hair out? Maybe down to my hips? Can you also color the ends?" Lucy looked at the ends of her hair. "Black would be different."

He was done in minutes and Lucy twirled, she had never had really long hair before and she liked the way it swayed.

"Pretty," Angel said with a small smile.

"Yea, Yea. Come on." Cobra huffed as he walked out the door. Lucy waved bye to Angel and ran after the slayer.

~JM~

"How long is the trip?" Lucy asked Cobra as they exited the guild hall.

"Normally it would be about seven hours but since we can't take the train it's gonna be a day trip." He said nonchalantly.

"Why can't we take the train?" She asked she took, this time, to look at the terrain surrounding the guild, it was mostly forest but tall mountains lined the horizon, she recognized Mount Hakobe on the farther side of the mountain range.

"We can't be seen, remember? Plus they bother my stomach."

"Can I try something?" She asked as she stopped walking.

"What?" He sighed.

"I can you teleportation magic, remember?" She said, only mocking him a little. "I can transport us as long as I can see it."

Cobra turned and sighed again, he felt like that was all he was doing now. He gestured for her to continue. "Do you have the Dragon Slayer necklace?"

Cobra reached into his pocket and held it up, he didn't really want her to know that he was carrying it but if she needed it. He didn't meet her eyes as she took it from his hand. He wasn't watching and that's why he slightly flinched when he felt her hands clip the necklace around his neck. "The fuck Blondie. I could've done that."

Lucy rolled her eyes, then watched him carefully as she slowly placed a hand on his chest. "I need physically contact, well unless you'd like me to blow you into a billion pieces." She said she had never transported another person like she does herself. When she had disappeared into the Spirit World earlier, she had just covered every inch of her body with her magic, then she imagined a gate behind Cobra.

Cobra ignored her small hand on his chest and looked down at her. She was so small. Her head just barely reaching his shoulders, he hadn't really noticed before. Her eyes were closed and he watched as magic began to seep into the air around them. A thin shell of gold and purple began to expand from her chest, covering her in a soft glow. It grew down her arm and Cobra lost his breath for a second when her magic hit his chest, it moved over him and wrapped around his shoulders, it bathed him in the same soft hue.

Sweat began to develop on her brow as she concentrated, "Where are we going?" It was a whisper.

"The Forgotten Desert, it's right pass the mountains, a little north." He answered. Cobra assumed this was harder with two people, she had done this easily by herself before. Maybe she was worried she would hurt him. Her other hand reached up and touched Cubellios's back, the snake was enveloped by the gold and Cobra reached up to put his hand on top of hers, hoping it would strengthen the magically bond.

Then he felt his spine almost shoot out of his ass as he and his snake were pulled into the Spirit World. His mind exploded with a million new sounds and smells, but they were all gone in seconds as he was thrown hard on a snowy ground. Another body fell hard on him and them another on top of that one. He groaned and cracked open his eyes, his vision was blurred but all he saw was yellow.

"Ah fuck that was hard." He heard Lucy groan, she rolled off of him and into the snow. "Okay, so I will do that separately in the future. Never again transporting myself with someone else." She sat up. "You good?"

"Yea I'm fucking good. My spine just got ripped out but yea fucking good."

"Oh, stop whining." She said as she stood up.

Cobra groaned again as he stood, "Fucking hell. Was that even worth it?"

"Okay, we made it to the top of the mountain. There's the Forgotten Desert." She said as she pointed below.

"You didn't even take us the whole way?"

"I can only teleport where I can see. Anyway, let's do it again." She said as she summoned a purple orb.

"What? Fuck no!" Cobra said, "Are you crazy?"

"No, this time, I'll do it normally. The spell I use for teleporting myself and the spell I use for teleporting other people is different. I tried both at the same time and it didn't really work as well." She explained.

"So I'm your fucking guinea pig?" He asked, his tone almost defensive.

"Yea."

"What the fuck has Brain done?" He sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. "Okay, hit me with it." He said as he turned to fully face her, he made sure Cubellios was around him.

Lucy smiled almost evilly as she hurled the orb at the Dragon Slayer, she had it released the magic before hitting him and he was sucked into the vortex it created.

She watched as he was thrown out of the portal a several hundred meters away from the base of the mountains.

"Graceful." She said aloud. Then she teleported herself, landing out of the portal on her feet.

"Yea, that's much easier. Let's never do that again."

"Fuck you." He groaned. He got off the ground and glared at her.

"What? I literally just saved us a very long and boring walk." She said innocently.

He said nothing as he started walking in the direction of the Dark Guild.

~JM~

Cobra's senses were in overdrive as they approached the Naked Mummy guild hall. He had to be careful, he had to monitor everyone, he couldn't let the idiots here say anything that could tip Lucy off. He reached his arm out and stopped the said girl, "Okay, listen these are not good people, they are an..independent guild. Which means-"

"I know what it means."

"Well, they give us money if we protect them, from dark guilds or other independent guilds. Sometimes even the council." He almost held his breath as he waited for her answer.

"Okay, so you do your job no matter what?"

He nodded slowly. She smiled, "Sounds like my old team."

Cobra smirked slightly, "But be careful in there, you're hot and they're horny. I'm here but don't expect me to protect and coddle you."

Lucy scoffed and walked ahead of him. "I'll be fine."

They stayed quiet as Cobra opened the guild doors. An instant chill went down Lucy's spine, the guild hall was full and every eye was on them. They were all men from what Lucy could tell and they seemed to drool at the sight of her. Lucy instinctive stepped closer to Cobra as he walked forward with his hand in his pockets. The men cleared a path from Cobra and the blonde, some towering in terror, others standing up straighter as if they were challenging the Dragon Slayer.

"Nice legs!" One of them called.

"Ohhh~ Look at that rack on that one~"

"Cobra? You fucking that?"

Various calls and whistles sounded from around the room, Lucy's heart was racing as they continued to walk. She almost screamed when she felt a weight drop on her shoulder, she looked to see Cubellios resting herself on the blonde's shoulder. The snake's head was raised as she watched the men, hissing at anyone that got to close. Lucy appreciatively pet the snake's back and followed closely behind Cobra.

He tried to ignore the annoying whistles and the disgusting thoughts he heard as he walked. He glared at them, making sure none of them had the balls to get closer. Cubellios was doing some of the protecting, he was silently thankful for that, he had said he wouldn't protect her but if anything happened to her Brain would have his head. He breathed out loudly as if he was sighing in relief as they got to the main office. He didn't both to knock as he just opened the door. The brother's that ran Naked Mummy were frantically trying to gather jewels as they shuffled around the office. They squeaked in terror as they saw who had just came through the door.

"Ah! Cobra! You usually send a lackey to receive the money." Zatô said as he sweat nervously, Lucy noted that the man looked like a monkey, he had an afro with, what she was assuming, his guild mark dyed into it. His teeth were gold or just badly stained and Lucy almost wanted to laugh at the way he seemed to cower at the sight of her guildmate.

"Brain sent us instead." He said simply. "Let's skip the pleasantries and get to the collection."

Lucy stepped up beside Cobra and handed him the small piece of paper with the right amount on it, Racer had given it to her before she had left. Cobra looked at it and raised his eyebrows, it was more than he would have thought, he knew they had raised their protection fee because of the search but this was a lot.

"900,000 Jewels." He said aloud. Zatô flinched and picked up the money they did have. Cobra handed Lucy the money and she scoffed.

"What you can't count?" She asked as she started shuffling through the money. Zatô and his brother snorted and Cobra glared.

"This is only 400,000," She said as she finished counting. Cobra smirked and stepped forward.

"Lucilla, why don't you wait outside." He suggested. He needed to live up to the guild's word, and if a guild couldn't pay the fee they were no longer protected. And Cobra would happily show that, but he didn't need the blonde getting all squeamish on him.

Lucy shook her head, "I'm staying."

Cobra turned to her and looked her in the eye. The determination and fight in them made him uncomfortable. He walked towards her and she backed up until her back hit the wall. Cobra got a hair's breath away and leaned down, so his face was level with hers. His hand went the wall beside her head and he spoke, "Then break their hands."

Lucy was taken aback, "What?"

"Break their hands."

Lucy's mouth fell slightly open and she shook her head. "Then leave." He growled. "And don't come back."

Lucy flinched. 'Back into the room or back to the Oracion Seis guild hall?' She thought. But she had a feeling she meant the latter. She gulped and looked down, Cobra stood back up but he didn't move. His hand was still by her face and she looked up into his stupid purple eyes. Then faster, than either brother could follow she was by them, she grabbed Zatô's hand, her thumb on his palm and her other fingers on the other side, she snapped his wrist back while simultaneously squeezing the fragile bones. She heard a horrifying crack and his yells but before she could talk herself out of it, she did the same to the other man. Cobra watched wide-eyed as the men fell to their knees clutching their hand. Lucy glared at Cobra, she ripped the beaded necklace off his neck as she stormed out the door. Cobra was amazingly shocked, she had done it. The Fairy Tail Beauty might just prove to be more than what he thought.

He a smile he hadn't noticed was on his face as he followed her out the door. She tried to push past the large guys in the guild but none of them were letting her past, they were all just going on about how she should take off her shirt. Cubellios was still on the Blonde's shoulders and she was trying desperately to warn off the persistent males.

It was then that one of their hands went to lift her skirt. Now Cobra rarely cared if anyone tried to touch Angel, mainly because Racer was ripping the guy a new spine before the Dragon Slayer could react but now was different. His breathing stopped as the wizard's hand touched his newest guildmate's ass, Cobra was there before even Lucy could do anything. He grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it hard, the man screamed in pain as Cobra heard bones crack. Lucy turned quickly to see the man on the ground, Cobra growled loudly and turned in a circle, the others fell on top of each other trying to get away.

He grabbed her hand and walked quickly outside, he didn't stop there, they had walked for nearly five minutes before Lucy stopped him. But before she could speak he reached into her coat pocket and took the necklace back, after clipping it on he nearly growled, "Don't take this from me again."

Lucy flinched back but nodded, "Now, teleport us back."

"We'll have to stop on the mountain again." She said quietly.

"Whatever just get us back."

Lucy did so and had to hold back her laughs as he landed face first into the snow, he was clearly not in the mood it. She teleported him again, then herself.

"Why are you back? You were barely gone two hours." Angel said as they walked through the main doors. Everyone was at the bar, even Midnight was awake. He scowled at Lucy and adverted his eyes. Cobra fell back hard into his chair and Lucy did the same in a chair at the bar.

"I used my magic." She said as she grabbed a shot glass and whatever alcohol was the closest, she looked at the clean glass and set it down. She then poured the liquor into her mouth and sighed heavily.

"Yep, that seems about right." Angel said, "Cobra does drive people to drink."

"Shut the fuck up." He said as he eyed the bottle and reached his hand out. Lucy tossed the bottle to him and grabbed herself another.

"Well, I'll be in my room." She said she brought the bottle with her.

"I take it you two had a good time?" Brain asked as he watched her leave.

~JM~

Lucy opened her eyes as she felt the overwhelming need to pee. She looked around the darkened room to see Angel asleep in her bed. Lucy groggily looked at the time to see it was about midnight. She hissed as she sat up the booze had given her a headache, she got up from the bed and stumbled to the door.

After using the bathroom and brushing the nasty aftertaste out of her mouth she walked to the bar to get a bottle of water. It was a couple minutes later when Brain rushed into the room, his hair was messy and he was wearing black pants with a loose top, his staff wasn't with him. He looked irritated as he walked down the hall with all the bedrooms, he waved his hand and all of the doors slammed open and the lights flashed on. Lucy heard multiple groans and heard Cobra's signature "What the fuck?"

One by one her guildmates stumbled tiredly out of their room. Angel noticed Lucy and plopped down next to her, Angel was wearing a white nightgown and her short hair was pulled up on top of her head, it reminded her of Mira's little bang ponytail. Racer was next to settle at the table, fully clothed in his usual attire. 'He must have dressed quickly,' She thought to herself.

Hoteye sat next to him, wearing some sort of long night shirt. Midnight's rug floated out of the room, Midnight still asleep on top. Brain followed the rug and sat upon his throne-like chair. Cobra groggily walked to the table and laid his head on the hard surface, a low groan left his throat as Angel slapped the table. She laughed loudly as he glared at her.

Lucy smiled softly, she loved her guildmates relationship. Angel and Cobra seemed so comfortable with each other, they screwed with each other so easily. They didn't get mad at each other, just annoyed, but that was proof of a good friendship. It made her heart hurt as she thought of Natsu. Racer laughed with Angel and Cobra continued to groan, "My head is killing me please, shut up."

Brain cleared his throat and everyone turned their attention to the gray-haired Master. "I apologize for waking you, but I have urgent news concerning the Balam Alliance." Everyone eyed Lucy, looking for any indication that she knew what that meant. "Because of the work we're doing we have awoken the interest of the Magic Council, I have gotten word that they have called in the assistance of the light guilds."

Lucy was taken aback. She knew her guild was looking for a powerful magic, and she knew that the magic council might be going after them because of their work with the Independent Guilds, but she had no idea that light guilds would be coming after them. Lucy wasn't afraid to disobey the council, she had done it before, but a light guild? What if she was being put against some of her friends from the other guilds? Lucy shook her head, Nirvana was her only chance. This was her only chance to get her guild back. As she listened to Brain explain the specifics she wished. No, she prayed that that one day she would see Fairy Tail again. She prayed that she would be able to see her family again.

* * *

 **I do not own Fairy Tail.**


	7. Don't Feel

**Just Misunderstood**

 **Chapter 7**

 **A short chapter, but I decided that I needed to post something. I'm not happy with this chapter but it's important. Just keep in mind that the Oracion Seis is a little OOC because they're trying to get Lucy to grow attached to them. I am struggling with the ending, which is still far away but I'm trying to plan. I need to decide if I want to add another ark, or if I break everyone's hearts and leave of with a death off some sort. I'm not sure, I have one scenario already typed, but I don't know if that is what I want to do. So feel free to leave some suggestions, maybe it will help me organize some thoughts.**

 **I swear the next chapter will come out in a more timely fashion, the next update will probably be Apartment Balcony, I know I said it would be A Father's Eyes but I'm really having a hard time.**

* * *

Lucy yawned as she lifted her head from the table, her maroon comforter was draped over her shoulders. She saw Angel curled up with her blanket and pillow on top of another table that had been pulled closer. Cobra was laying down on the bench with Cubellios wrapped around one of his legs. Racer and Hoteye were laying on the floor with their different blankets wrapped around them, and Midnight was asleep on his rug.

She smiled softly, and stretched her arms above her head as she stood, the sun that was shining through the windows told her it was still early. She pulled her comforter off and spread it out over Cobra, who was shirtless in the cold guild hall. Lucy stretched again as she walked to one of the large windows, the sky was clear and the birds were out. She slowly took in the air around her and turned to face her guild mates.

Lucy's mind was unusually calm. She felt lighter than she did yesterday, she felt a little happier. Her eyes dropped to the ground as her thoughts drifted to recent events. A sad smile was on her lips as she thought of Fairy Tail, but it wasn't as sad as she would've thought. She had a new found hope, a prayer, that she would be able to use Nirvana to find her family. She did like her new guild, they were different. They were quirky and nice, but rude at the same time. Like they were all hiding a deep pain but masked it with sarcasm.

Lucy dropped her hands to her sides and slimed widely. It was a new day, time for new conversation, new laughs, new tears. It was a new day.

"You good?" A groggy voice asked. Lucy caught Cobra's eyes as he sat up, her blanket still laid across his lap.

"Yea, I'm fine, just taking in the morning." He nodded and runned his eyes. He yawned and laid back down on the bench.

"Hey, I'm gonna make coffee. You want some?" She asked as she pulled herself up and over the bar.

I"Yeah. Black."

Lucy nodded and got to work, she made helped herself to the kitchen, located behind the bar, and even had to summon Virgo so the spirit could go buy groceries. It only took a few minutes and by then the stove had heated up and she had gotten all the pot and pans she would need. "Would that be all, Princess?" Virgo said as she shimmered in, she dropped about 20 bags on the ground and bowed low.

"Yea, thanks." Lucy said, she grabbed the eggs and flow, along with a few other things and began mixing it into pancake batter. After putting the first set on the stove to cook she laid out the bacon on another pan. She worked in autopilot, constantly checking the clock and flipping pancakes. Lucy put the pot of coffee on, and threw sausage into to another pan, she started cutting strawberries, and mixing more batter as she waited for them to cook.

She hummed to herself, her body moving effortlessly through the kitchen, almost like it wasn't her first time using it. After making a few more sets of pancakes and a few more dozen pieces of bacon she heard the coffee pot ding and she grabbed trays and plates from the cabinet. She put the thirty plus pancakes on a plate and put them on the bar, not noticing the few of her guild mates watching her. Making a few more sausage patties she threw them on a plate as well as the bacon. She mixed the strawberries with some sugar and put it in a giant bowl, after placing all the plates and trays on the bar she poured the coffee, keeping them all black, not knowing how they all liked their coffee. She put the kettle on in case anyone wanted tea and grabbed the syrup, butter and silverware, placing them on the bar and that is when she noticed Cobra, Angel and Racer watching her.

"Oh, hey. Hope you guys don't mind, decided to make breakfast." She smiled.

Cobra gaped at the Blonde and Angel giggled at him. "It's been awhile since anyone has used that kitchen."

"Yeah, everyone is shit at cooking besides Cobra, but he doesn't like too." Racer said as he moved forward to get a plate. "Hoteye! Food!" He yelled, waking up the larger man. Lucy didn't even see him move but suddenly he was up by Racer filling his plate with food.

Cobra was there to, eating three pancakes at once, "Midnight! Up, oh never mind." Angel began but stopped when the boy was already awake and seated eating bacon on his carpet.

Lucy laughed and grabbed strawberries along with Angel.

"Damn, Blondie, you annoy the shit out of me but stay forever and cook us food." Cobra groaned as he inhaled the pancakes and sausage.

"Jeez guys, when was the last time you've eaten?" She laughed.

"Oh, we eat all the time but never home cooked. More like takeout or Maru-Chan." Racer chimed in.

"You made so much. How the heck you'd know we eat a lot?" Cobra added.

"Oh, my old team. We had a dragon slayer so I know you guys eat a lot more. Andddd apparently I was right." Lucy said as she watched him consume, like, seven more pancakes.

Cobra was seated crisscross on the bar, his shirt was still off and he was basically pouring syrup into his mouth as he ate. "Oh my god, I regret everything," Lucy said as she giggled.

"Damn, I'm down for a marriage right now if this is how you're gonna cook." Racer inhaled deeply as he took a bite of some sausage.

"Fuck off, Sawyer. She's mine." Angel said, she mockingly winked at Lucy and they laughed together. Lucy noticed her blanket wrapped around Cobra's shoulders as he ate, she smiled warmly and looked away, not wanting to draw attention to it. "Make sure to save some for Brain." Angel added, grabbing another piece of bacon.

Cobra leaned over and forked several pieces of everything onto a plate and put it aside. He grabbed a few cups of coffee and placed them on the table, pouring cream and sugar into one a placing it in front on Angel, cream in one for Racer and a whole lot of sugar for Hoteye. Cobra locked eyes with Lucy and raised an eyebrow. "Just cream," She said.

He nodded, pouring till she said when. The group continued eating, they bantered and talked about things they could. There was minimum throwing of food and only two cups were knocked over. Racer piled up the dishes and was already in the kitchen washing them before Lucy could stop him. Cobra waved her off saying he'd be done cleaning them all in a matter of seconds.

Midnight had fallen asleep again, his plate balancing on the edge of his rug, Lucy walked over and grabbed it before it fell, and she smiled while she huffed. Lucy was really beginning to really like these people, they were all really sweet in there own ways and really cared for one another. Lucy assumed they had known each other for a long time, maybe evening going through horrible situations to make their bond so strong.

"What are you thinking about?" Cobra asked, he was still sitting on the bar and Lucy was leaning on it, they watched the rest of the guild as they fought over the last plate of food.

"Just you guys. I'm glad I met you all. Though I wished it was under better circumstances." Lucy answered. She smile up at him, Cobra had to look away, the innocence of that statement and smile was too much for him to handle.

"Under different circumstances?" He poked, trying to squeeze information out of her.

"My guild, Fairy Tail, was taken. I guess, I don't really know what happened but they're gone and I'm going to find them. I hope I can use Nirvana to save them." She didn't look at him.

"Ah, they were taken why you were off getting stronger for selfish reasons," He spoke the words and almost regretted them.

Her eyes turned on him and he could see fiery passion in them. "I heard when I took your necklace," Cobra said, almost in defense.

Lucy looked away and huffed, shrugging, "Yea, I said it was to protect them but really I was embarrassed. I was weak, and fragile. My guild got really hurt trying to protect me and I couldn't do anything to help. I felt so guilty and horrible about it all, I never want to feel that way again."

Cobra nodded, he knew the feeling well. In the Tower so much had happened, the older slaves were always ready to protect the children and the many that did were never seen again. That sense of guilt has always stayed with him, even when he was doing horrible things to people. It was his job, to hurt and intimidate, this was his life. Cobra did have morals, he wasn't a complete monster, even though everyone thought he was. He didn't particularly like hurting people, but it was something he has to do so he lives with it. Cobra sighed slowly and looked at Lucy. Her eyes were trained on the floor in front of the bar, her eyes were sad and her posture rigid. He watched the necklace on her neck, the purple swirling almost angrily in the glass bead. His stomach shifted uncomfortably and he looked away from it.

- _don't feel-_

Cobra cracked his neck and stood, his bare feet softly hitting the floor, "Well, you're here now. You're an asset, an ally, a guild member. And if you stick around, I'm sure you'll become a friend." His voice was monotone, but he didn't really think that mattered, he said the words she needed to hear. Lucy didn't look at him, but absorbed his words, she tried to hide a smile on her face and nodded as she turned away. She felt the need to hug him but knowing that would not end well she restrained herself. And without saying anything, she grabbed her comforter and went to get ready for today. Knowing - _feeling-_ that something was going to happen, whether it was good or bad she did not know.

Cobra watched her leave, He heard her footsteps, her breathing, her heart beat. But he couldn't hear her thoughts, and oh, how that bothered him more than he ever thought something would. His jaw clenched painfully and he couldn't name the feeling in his chest, it wasn't joy or hatred, just an uneasiness that was settling deep within, his senses seemed to be heightened, he heard everyone's' thoughts and movement so much louder than usual, his eyes caught every single thing ripple in the air, his skin was suddenly so aware of the world around him touching it.

He felt it, a disturbance in the air, somewhere, maybe far away, maybe close by, but something was happening and he nearly jumped as a sudden wave of magic erupted into existence. So much magic exploded at once, his eyes wiped around and no one else seemed to notice. He heard the thudding of running foot steps and Lucy was back in the room. Her eyes wide and a thin glow of gold surrounding her. He knew what happened, Brain had asked him to keep tabs on the area, without really realizing it, in the back of his mind, he was watching it, feeling it.

He knew it, the large town, the large guild, the strong members. He locked eyes with Brain as he ran into the room. His hair was disheveled as if he had just woken up. His magic was reacting as well as green tendrils expanded from him. Cobra felt his own magic bubble up and the others turned as they realized there own was doing it as well. Cobra locked eyes with Lucy and his heart hit the roof of his mouth as he saw realization dawn on her face. And they both knew.

Magnolia had just returned.

* * *

 **Like I said, short chapter. :/**


	8. An Issue

**Just Misunderstood**

 **Chapter 8**

 **Let's not talk about the fact that I said I would update A Father's Eyes. I'm just really getting into writing this story.**

* * *

Natsu screamed loudly as the ground grew closer, his ears picked up the same sounds of terror from his guildmates around him as well. He barely had time to protect his head before he met the ground with a hard thud. The cold concert ate at his skin and he clenched his teeth as he felt Erza, and the others land on his back.

His heart beat wildly, Lisanna. The sudden pain in his chest was completely devouring all the other injuries that he bared. He saw her eyes, her face, her body -her tears, her pain- her pain became his pain. He had seen her again, she had been gone.

He had found her.

Finally.

Then he lost her.

Again.

Her blue eyes kept flashing through his mind as if his memories was mimicking a broken record. He saw them happy, he saw realization bloom across them, then he saw the aching pain that filled them up and spilled over.

She was taller now, prettier, stronger, she was still her. The girl that he had lost.

Natsu became vaguely aware of Erza calling his name.

"We made it back. We saved them." Her voice floated through his head.

"Where are we? Gajeel asked, his eyes not recognizing the gloomy cemetery of the Cathedral.

Gray said just that and they all took the time to check each other's injuries, making sure they were all okay. Natsu sat on the ground and looked up at his friends. Wendy sat with Carla, the two looking at the scrapes Wendy had gotten in the fall, Gray stood with Erza, and Gajeel was off to the side, staring at the edge of the woods.

Natsu smelled it too, then he heard it. He stood quickly and joined Gajeel.

Before they could truly react a small cat appeared out of the trees and dragging behind him was a girl, with blue eyes and white hair.

It took him several minutes to realize what was happening, he watched in slow motion as Gajeel tackled the cat, he watched as Erza and Gray covered their mouths, and their eyes flashed to him. His heart was gone, he couldn't feel it, he felt no blood moving through his veins. He only felt a heavy weight lift off of his shoulder, then it was replaced.

Her arms were suddenly around him, her head was on his shoulder, her scent filled his nose. Her softness filled his arms. Happiness filled his lungs, a happiness that had been gone since Lucy.

Natsu's mind was frozen, all he could do was smile and nod as she talked, as everyone spoke. He stood there, not knowing when he moved or why he did but he was there, watching as she ran away. He almost chased after her, but stopped as he made eye contact with Mira, the mage looked confused before she laid eyes on the girl running towards them.

He watched how they hugged, how they cried. He saw the joy in her return.

He saw Lucy. He wished for Lucy.

And oh, how he hated himself for it.

~JM~

Cobra stood painfully still. His muscle aching to eliminate the threat. The threat of exposure, the threat of letting her live. He could feel his slitted pupils expand and contract as he watched her eyes. She did the same, the brown pulsating between its normal color and a brilliant gold. He listened to her heart beat, it was loud in his ears, and it drowned out every other sound in the world. His eyes sudden met the swirling orb on her necklace. The small bead taunted him, it laughed and mocked him. It blocked him, and shielded her, it shone in triumph and rolled in victory.

The deep, powerful magic in it was unbalanced and unmatched. His eyes flashed to the others, they all were watching Brain, not knowing what was going to happen.

Their leader was standing straight, his posture rigid his breathing even, his thoughts clear. Then in a flash, he was gone, his body was behind Lucy. She reacted a lot faster than should've been possible. Her body twisted and she meant to lung back, but his magic exploded around her and she slowly but almost violently fell, his arms wrapped around her small body and she was cradled in his arms.

He nodded for the others to follow and walked the rest of the way to the room the two girls shared.

No one moved, but watched his back. It was so painfully quiet. Hoteye was the first to follow, his large body drawing creaks out of the wood below him. Racer moved after him, his body moving so unnaturally slow. Midnight was already gone, none of them seeing him leave.

With a loud scoff, Angel stood up. Her chair scraping loudly on the ground. But Cobra heard it, the slight hate in the corner of her mind. Not a hate for Lucy but a hate for Brain, but if Cobra listened carefully, he could hear it from them all.

~JM~

Natsu sat with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes followed Lisanna as she swept across the guild, hugging everyone and explaining her story. He said nothing, he tried to feel nothing. Because whenever he did he caught himself wishing it was Lucy, wishing she was back and that she was the one hugging everyone and telling about her adventures in the spirit world. Natsu loved Lisanna, he really did, and he was glad she was back but he couldn't help the deep regret and pain inside of him.

He tried to ignore the fact that no one was talking about it, about how it had been nine months. As far as he knew time hadn't had passed why he was in Edolas, but still, Lucy should be back. People should be waiting for her, they should be welcoming her.

She should be back.

And that very thought ran through his head until master called a meeting.

~JM~

Lucy's eyes opened to darkness, cold damp air surrounded her and she struggled to breathe. Hard ground laid beneath her and her shoulders ached as she sat up, as she tried to blink the sleep from her eyes she noticed the eerie silence around her.

She slowly stood, and after walking a few steps, her voice called out, "Angel?" again, "Cobra?" The only sound that came back was a hollow echo of her own voice. With that, she determined that she was in a cave, it was dark and she hugged the wall as she continued forward. It felt like years before she heard another sound of life, the soft chirping of birds. Then light followed as she rounded a turn. The cave opened up into a forest, tall trees surrounded her and flowers bloomed on the dirt path. Mountains continued south and, as far as she could tell, the forest was thriving in a large valley of sorts.

Her nose caught the scent of Cobra, and she was startled for a second. She had forgotten that she would develop the scenes of a slayer, she stopped walking. How did she get here? When did she leave the guild? When did she fall asleep?

She physically shook her head and followed his scent, she caught everyone else's as she moved forward. She climbed through the thick trees to find them all sitting together. A small fire in the middle. They all eyed her warily. No one said anything. No one asked her any questions, no one said any answers.

Lucy huffed and plopped down in between Cobra and Angel. They both shifted to accommodate her and Racer handed her a plate of food.

"Thanks." she took it, "So, um where are we?" She was asked cautiously.

"We got a lead. On Nirvana. You went to sleep after breakfast and we didn't want to wake you, you seemed pretty tired. Brain just transported us here so it wasn't an issue." Cobra explained.

She nodded slowly, that did make sense, that'd explain why she didn't remember leaving. And she did feel horribly tired, she still did in fact. She held her head. A headache was coherent in the back of her skull. "Okay. Thank you for that."

They all seemed to let out a deep breath when the words left her mouth. And so they ate, they talked, they laughed, they argued. They sat there, enjoying the small bit of time they had.

~JM~

"Wendy!" Natsu yelled astonished. He stood in the middle on Blue Pegasus's sister location with Erza, Gray, Lamia Scale and the Pegasus's boys. They all stared at the little girl.

Erza and Gray were quick to run forward with Natsu so hug the young girl. "Hey! Guys, I heard Fairy Tail was in the alliance, I'm glad it was you." She smiled.

"Good to see you again Wendy," Erza said while patted the girl, lightly, in the back.

"Wow, we've been back a day and they've already thrown us into another battle," Gray said as he leaned against the wall.

After a few minutes of pleasantries, the Pegasus's boys pulled up archive.

"We are here for one purpose, to gather intel on the Oracion Seis, we were told not to engage. They are dangerous, there are only six members. But because of recent reports we believe there may be a seventh." The screen multiplied and flipped, four photos appearing.

"This is Cobra, he uses a type of sound magic, he is also known to be able to control a giant snake." Hibiki gestured to the photo.

Ren stepped up, "This is Angel, only in looks, though, being beautiful is not her only pass time, she is a celestial mage that is known to quite sadistic."

Hibiki nodded and pointed to the remaining two, "Racer, speed magic. And Hoteye, he can liquefy earth." He pulled the photos down. "The there's Midnight, no photo is available and we don't know much about him. Same with their leader, Brain."

The mages all nodded and listened carefully, each one trying to absorb the information being given to them. Hibiki typed on archive and a final picture showed up. "This is what might be their newest member." Lucillia showed on the screen, her back, her side facing the camera, her face being blocked by Cobra's tall frame. "She was seen going on a protection tax collection, with Cobra. Now the Oracion Seis has never been known to accept new members." Natsu stepped up and Hibiki stopped.

The Slayer examined the picture, the long blonde hair that was seen was so familiar in texture and color to him, the way she was built was all so familiar. He stared at the back of her head, and then her ear, then her face disappeared behind Cobra's shoulder.

"We expect this new girl to be insanely powerful. She might very well turn out to be the most dangerous of them all."

They had no idea.

~JM~

It was when Cobra stood up abruptly that they all went quiet. "They're here." The simple words triggered a chain, Angel nodded and grabbed her keys, and ran into the woods. Racer and Hoteye both began to collect the supplies, Brain stood slowly and held his hand to Lucy. She took it and stood as well.

"What's going on. Who's here?" Lucy asked.

"The light guilds. They've come to thwart our plans for Nirvana. We must go and stop them."

Lucy already began shaking unwanted thoughts away, she had already decided she would do what she could, but a sense of unease was still burrowed deep inside her. She followed Brian as he loomed forward, his long coat dragging on the forest floor. Cobra was quick to catch up and smirked at Lucy as she struggled to keep up with their long strides.

He heard Racer and Hoteye behind them, their words hushed and secretive. And for a while they walked, Lucy and Cobra exchanged words but for the most part, they walked in silence.

The cold air seemed to create a shield around them. Almost as if it was being controlled, Lucy's heart raced in her chest, it beat wildly in it's cage. Subconsciously she moved closer to Cobra, his height and build making her feel secure.

Of course, Cobra noticed this, he knew that he was the one she trusted the most, he didn't have to hear her thoughts to know that, she was wary of them all. Not entirely trusting any of them, but he knew that if she was running, he would be the one she would be running too. She had only been with them a couple days but, Cobra could tell that everyone, even Midnight on some level, was beginning to like her, trust her, respect her.

That could become a real problem.

'Cobra, we have a very big issue,' it was quiet and muffled, far away but he heard her.

'Fairy Tail is here,' Cobra stopped at Angel's words. His feet scuffing the ground and ruffling the leaves under his boots. His eyes wiped down to Lucy, and then to her hand, to her Fairy Tail guild mark.

"Fuck." The word was ripped from his mouth before he could stop it.

Both of his companions looked at him in question.

He pointed to his ears, "Angel's having a hard time. She ran into a problem."

Brain raised his eyebrows and Cobra's eyes darted between him and Lucy's pink guild mark, he did this until realization eclipsed the confusion on his guild master's face.

Lucy continued walking, knowing Angel could probably handle whatever the problem was. She looked up at the two tall men walking on either side of her and smiled gently. Lucy didn't know the details of Nirvana, or how they were going to get it, she didn't know anything about these people. She didn't know their backgrounds, their pasts, their stories. She didn't know what makes them cry or what makes them happy. She only knew that they were awkward and amusing, harsh and blunt, bold and brash. They were loving in their own ways, they were mean to each other in ways only best friends could be, they laughed and screamed. They loved and hated. She had only been there a few days, but the emotions that bubbled inside of her reminded her of the early days of Fairy Tail. The painless first days, the joy and happiness that will always be present in her heart, even when they weren't themselves. She was glad she was here, with Cobra and the others. Even without knowing much about them she knew that this would grow into a love. A love like she had for Fairy Tail, but never replacing it.

Her eyes caught Cobra's and he smirked widely, she rolled her eyes as she chuckled.

'Okay, it's taken care of. I just showed them what they wanted to see.' He heard the angel laugh, 'they were too surprised to do anything. I only got the Fairies, though, you still got the others heading your way. I'd recommend meeting them on the cliff.'

Cobra smiled even wider, "she took care of it. Let's intercept the others" Cobra informed them.

"Where?" Lucy asked.

Cobra smirked when he realized what she was planning. He pointed to the cliff several hundred meters in front of them. She looked up at the peak and smiled. "Yeah, I got this." And without another word she summoned two orbs in the palms of her hand them grabbed both their hands. Cobra grunted in surprise as he's landed on the edge of the cliff, nearly losing his balance he leaned forward and watched as pebbles fell into the forest below.

"Ah, very good. Not even I can get this precise." Brain mused. Lucy blushed and pulled her hand away from him. She still held Cobra's though. She pulled him a little away from the edge and laughed, "careful."

He scoffed and muttered a 'yeah, yeah.'

As if on queue Racer was next to them, his hair still moving as if he was. He breathed out heavily and crouched low. Hoteye soon joined them, his hand clutching his gold chain. Midnight was there as well, his soft snores being heard by them all. Lucy's eyes were trained forward, afraid of who was going to show up, afraid of which guild she was going to have to fight. She didn't technically know a lot of people from other guilds but she knew of them. She knew that they didn't deserve to be stopped, they were just doing their jobs, but she needed to help her friends, her family. And now that she was truly thinking about it, she didn't really care how much she was going to have hurt people, how much she was going to have to sin. It was such a weird feeling, realizing that you would be willing to hurt someone for someone else. It was like a hole in her chest, and all of the things she thought she would care about were being sucked through it.

Lucy's stomach hit the root of her mouth as she saw several figures appear in the distance, they were running fast and she heard yells of delight.

None of her companions moved, they all froze as if ice had descended on them all, they just watched as the figures approached them, Cobra stiffened, even more, when they came into full view.

He heard Fairy Tail's thoughts in the back of his mind, Angel had taken care of them, but he heard the thoughts that resonated throughout their heads.

Lucy.

Apparently, Angel had pulled no punches and hit them close to home. Sometime, somewhere, she had copied Lucy using Gemini and had pulled them out against Fairy Tail.

It was fresh in their minds, all of them being hit with wave after wave of sadness. They were conscious but restrained, immobilized. They weren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Then as if he hadn't of been watching they were there. Not Fairy Tail, though, the others.

A tall man with spiky hair watched Lucy, his blue eyes piercing through her.

'She looks like one of Gray's companions.' His thoughts were louder than everything else, Cobra's eyes widened and he moved before he thought he did. He was suddenly behind the man, his poison already dripping from his hands and mouth.

"Cobra!" Lucy's voice sounded so loud in his head, it echoed and his poison was suddenly gone, the claws on his hand suddenly dry. He scoffed in his head and sent out his leg, kicking the man a good several feet.

"Lyon!" A female yelled. She stepped forward her pink hair swirling around her. "Marinette Attack! Rock Do-," Her spell was cut off by a blur of black and yellow. A high pitch scream was released from her mouth as she flew into the brush of the forest.

Racer crouched low to the ground, his fingers brushing the dirt below him, his eyes scanning the enemies around him. He eyed a tall, bald man. His stance was different, his staff low to the ground, he saw the tiniest bit of magic flash in his eyes.

He had no time, the magic was already commanding the ground. Racer was suddenly in front of Angel, his body shielding hers from the large column of stone that was launched from the ground. Her beautiful blue eyes were wide with shock as the situation registered in her mind. Horrible cracks from bone were heard and echoed throughout all of their heads.

Cobra was suddenly there, his knee implanted into the tall man's stomach. The bald man staggered back and coughed, blood spilling onto the ground. "This is why we told you to take the s-classes out," Cobra grunted. His hand blocking a punch from a tan man.

Angel caught Racer as he fell forward, "I took the redheaded one out. I assumed, Almighty Cobra, that you would be able to take them." She tried to counter, but the shakiness in her voice was present.

Lucy stepped forward, her shock of the last few seconds leaving her. A tall man with orange hair ran at her, his fist raised and magic swirling around it. She dismissed the thought that he looked like Loke and dodged his punch. Her head moving to the side, the air from his fist wiping her hair. Her hand went to his wrist and he ripped it back his knee coming up to hit her stomach. She caught his knee in her other hand and they stood there. Both locked in each other's grips, her eyes met his and he scoffed. "So, this is the new Oracion Seis member? Nothing really special."

Lucy's eyes flashed and magic collected on her skin, it grew over his and he tried to flinch away but the magic turned to gold, it burned and ate at his skin. Creating bubbles and blisters. He ripped away and fell back, "Hibiki!" His comrade yelled.

Lucy smiled, "Nothing special?" She sneered. She heard Brain laugh behind her but couldn't look back when another boy jumped at her, he was young, maybe too young to be in a fight this serious, but Lucy couldn't find it in her to care. His body was covered in a white hue and snow was swirling around him. Lucy sidestepped and jumped back, her boots sliding nicely on the dirt. She covered her body in magic and was gone, her senses being filled with the smells and sounds of the spirit world before she was back into her own. Her foot went out to kick the boy's side as she appeared behind him.

He flew forward to land beside his friend and Lucy stood over them both.

Her eyes glowing gold and purple magic swirling around her. Lucy locked eyes with Cobra and a certain emotion in them caused her magic to disperse. His beautiful purple irises seemingly sparkled, like water would, his slitted pupils expanded and contracted as they watched her. Lucy felt her breath hitch, her breathing shallow. His eyes flicked down to her hand and she followed his gaze. Warm liquid dripped from her fingers and it splattered in a pool on the dirt below. The thick red fluid was almost foreign to her eyes, her entire hand was bloody and she looked around to find the source of her injury.

"Lucillia, that's not your blood." That name was unfamiliar to her and her mind was fuzzy. Her gaze caught the deep slash located on the stomach of the young boy that she had just fought. His cries of pain were now palpable in her ears and she stumbled back, her hands coming up to grab her head, leaving blood in her hair but she couldn't care as she almost fell back.

Strong arms wrapped around her waist, and her vision was filled with maroon as she was pulled up into his arms.

Brain's words floated into her ears, "Take her, it's the spell, it was too soon for her to fighting." He stepped forward, Hoteye and Angel joining him.

Lucy's head tilted back and his hand went to support it. He held her close to his chest while he vanished in a swirl of green magic.

~JM~

Cobra stumbled when he landed at the bottom of the cliff, Brain's magic causing his balance to falter. Lucy's eyes were closed and her head was still hung back as he carried her. He quickly set her down and listened to her heart.

The slow beating caused him to release a breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding.

 _She was alive._

His eyes caught the necklace on her neck and he grabbed the small orb and ripped the leather clasp off.

And as the necklace left her, the lively orb stilled, the magic inside of it stopping completely. He listened closely to her thoughts, he searched for answers, feelings, dreams. But all he heard was the same line that was always screaming inside of him.

 _How could I have done that?_


	9. Purple Flower

**Just Misunderstood**

 **Chapter 9**

* * *

Gray's eyes were trained on the ground in front of him. The loose pieces of rock suddenly becoming more interesting than the tall trees around him. His arms flexed painfully against the rough ropes that ate away at his bare skin. He felt so empty, so incredibly hollow. The ice inside of him silent as the ropes caged it away. He leaned forward, letting his weight go to his knees, the hard gravel becoming even more uncomfortable as he focused on it. He looked up at the trees, the green leaves swaying as if mocking him, showing off that they can move when he couldn't. His eyes darted to flowers dancing playfully by his knee, the purple petals so painfully beautiful.

He tried to focus on anything. Anything other than what was pounding so horribly loud in the back of his head.

Lucy.

He almost verbally cursed as he let it snap into the front of his mind. His blue eyes suddenly met brown as he caught Erza's. She was bound to a tree to his far right. Her armor was cutting viciously into her arm and her discomfort was visible on her face. Her eyes moved away, closing, then opening to the ground. She was watching ants that were marching silently in a line, her usually lively eyes were dull, the light in them gone.

Gray felt Natsu behind him, his body heat obvious even with his magic bound. But that may have been because of the physical rage that was coming off of him in actual waves. His breathing was heavy like the air around them.

"That wasn't Lucy," her voice came shakey, both onyx and blue eyes turned to her. Red hair was falling in waves on the sides of her face. Creating a curtain that shielded her from them.

"But she should've been back already. It had been nine months. It was time." Natsu's voice was smooth, smoother than it should've been.

"She would've come to back to us. She wouldn't have run off to join a dark guild. That wasn't her. That couldn't have been her. It was an illusion or a spell. That wasn't Lucy." Gray's own voice was foreign to his ears.

He shifted again, and his jaw clenched as he felt warm blood run down his skin, the rope that was wrapped tight around his upper arms and chest was becoming even tighter as he breathed. His eyes watched as the blood dripped off his arm onto the purple flowers below.

~JM~

Cobra sat there, his knees pressing into the soft dirt below. His mind was racing, her thoughts swirling with his own. He suddenly felt like he was drowning in every single thought and feeling that he had be blocked from.

He was suddenly in a crumbling tower, a tall, tan man he recalled as Gajeel Redfox stood in front of him. "You guys are complete idiots! I feel so sorry for you, I think I'm tearing up. Phantom Lord? What a joke; I'm not afraid of you at all!" He heard Lucy's voice mock. The sound of it sent chills down his back, it was so broken but strong. The way it cracked physically hurt his chest, he could almost hear the pain in it, the bruises on her body and the cuts in her skin.

Then he was somewhere else, he was surrounded by tall bookcases, exotic pillars held the ceiling up, cream wallpaper lined the walls. A man stood behind a tall desk, his brown suit lacking even a single wrinkle. His hand was flat on the table, his eyes slightly wide, and then her voice rang out again. "There's nothing happy about having your fate decided for you! You have to grab your own happiness!" His face constricted into a mask of rage and confusion. But before he could speak Lucy spoke up. "Never lay a finger on Fairy Tail again. The next time you do, I...everyone in the guild will consider you as our enemy!" Her hands reached up and she gripped the pretty white lace lining her dress and with one swift tug the fabric ripped. "What I want isn't money or pretty dresses, but a place that recognizes me as who I am. Fairy Tail is my other family, and it is a far more warming family than here!"

Cobra dug deep, his ears, his soul, reaching for more. Then the air changed, the moisture in it becoming heavy, he opened his eyes and found that he was surrounded by water, he stood on an outstretch of land that jutted out into a circular waterfall. Lucy was collapsed on the ground, her arms wrapped around, what he knew was the Lion spirit. Lucy was hunched over him, and her voice was shrill. "I said I'm going to save you no matter what! I can force open the Gate to the Spirit World, watch me!" She screamed as a large column of light was released from her body, the pillar launching seemingly, endlessly into the sky.

"It won't open! Celestial Spirits who've disobeyed humans they have contracts with can't go back to the spirit world!" His voice yelled out, his arms wrapped around her as she screamed louder. "Lucy! You have to stop! You're starting to merge with the spirit energy! If you keep this up you'll disappear with me!" Tears filled his eyes as he watched her continue. "Please! Lucy! Don't add to my sins!"

"What sin? Caring for your friend's feelings is not a sin! If you disappear, then Aries, myself, and everyone here will be filled with sadness! You won't be repenting your sin that way! And if that's a rule in the spirit world then I'll just have to change it!" She screamed.

Then everything was a blur again as time and space twisted around them. When it stalled they were in the same spot, but a large gate stood tall behind them, and gold strings of magic were connecting the lion to it. His smile said everything, the warmth in it showing his love for Lucy, romantic or otherwise, it didn't matter, the lion truly loved her. Lucy's tears were present in her eyes as the lion took her hand.

"Thank you so much, Lucy I look forward to working with you. And being your backbone," he said as he began to vanish in a shower of gold.

"Me too, Loke," and as he disappeared a single gold key was left in her hand.

Cobra physically flinched back as tears fell from his eyes. He violently wiped them away, not only was he seeing her memories but he was feeling her feelings as well. He huffed as he moved on. To the next memory, that has made her who she is.

He was standing in, what was obviously a guild hall. He stood on the second floor, and a crowd of people stood below, most of them had tears forming in their eyes. "Bye, everyone. I'll see you soon." Lucy's voice was soft and she sounded defeated. A golden magic circle was present below her and it flashed and blinded them all as she disappeared into a pillar of that same gold.

Then, all in a blur, he saw her entire visit in the spirit world, her training, her feelings, her relationship with her spirits, everything. He saw and felt her lacrima being implemented. He felt her complete devastation when she found out her guild was gone. Saw and felt every moment of guilt every, every ping of resentment, every fake smile, every real cry. He learned about her mother, her family, her guild. He learned of her growing love for them all, a respect and admiration for him. He was taken aback by that, he was a monster, a jerk, a criminal. And although she didn't know this, he learned that she would be okay with it.

Cobra leaned and sat back, his hands digging into the dirt below. He stared at the necklace in his hand, the usual swirling magic in it completely static. "This was from the spirit king." He reached up to the beaded necklace on his own neck. "These were for your guild." He voiced aloud. He almost chuckled, "Well, Lucy Heartfillia, don't you have an amazing story to tell." He leaned forward to clip the necklace back on her neck and she was silenced by the magical barrier. Her thoughts and memories being hidden from him once again.

~JM~

Lucy awoke with a shrill scream.

Her body moved before she thought she did and she was suddenly on her feet. She noticed Cobra jump up with her but paid him no mind. Lucy figured she had passed out again, that was happening way too much for her liking, but she knew what had happened, she must have just overworked herself again. Her lacrima was still freshly implanted, that must be it.

Must be.

She seemed to try and convince herself. Like somewhere deep down she knew that that wasn't it this time, after all, her back felt fine, and so did her magic. She stopped her musings then took a step to the side as the magic in the air changed, and the air next to her got really cold for a split second before Brain appeared in a flurry of green. When the magic cleared, in his arms was a small girl. She was unconscious and sweat beaded her face, her long blue hair hung free behind her.

Cobra's eyes widened as he realized just who was in his Master's arms. "Brain. That's the sky maiden," he said aloud.

Angel and Racer appeared next to them, Angel helping to hold up the man. Hoteye wasn't long behind them and Midnight had gotten there somewhere in between. He sat on his rug, his arms crossed, and his eyes open as he watched the young girl. "Who," she paused, "Who is the sky maiden?" Lucy asked.

"Ah, she is the key to everything. Well, more precisely she is the key to the key." Brain spoke up, he handed the girl to Cobra who awkwardly held her in his arms. His face was one of pure annoyance.

"I don't do kids," his voice was more than irritated. And he grumbled something about having to carry her.

"Oh shut up, give her to me." Lucy rolled her eyes as she scooped the little girl up and adjusted her on her back. Cobra sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Brain was zoning out on the ground, his eyes becoming interested in the pebble there. "We must get to him quickly. Now that the light guilds have brought her to me, the Sky Maiden can wake him up."

Cobra heard it, but he couldn't react fast enough, and in a blur of red he had a sword to his throat. His eyes met brown, as he looked down at her. She was like a feral beast, wild savagery present in her eyes. Her scarlet hair was loose and unruly as it shifted in the wind. Her silver sword drew blood as the point nicked his skin.

"What do you need Wendy for?" It was a question that needed an answer, her eyes demanding it. Cobra smiled as he heard it.

The spell clicking into place.

The red head flew back as she dodged the slash of gold. Purple prominences filled the air as Lucy lunged forward her, magic almost devouring the air around her. Erza's eyes were wide as her vision finally connected with her mind.

"Lucy?" She whispered. But it wasn't, Erza could tell, she looked like Lucy but it was just another trick like before. The redhead growled. "Playing a trick like that won't work the second time!" She yelled.

Lucy laughed, "What are you talking about?" She lunged towards Erza but the redhead surrounded herself in white magic before she reappeared in a new armor, the purgatory set present on her skin. The large sword swung out, and Lucy leaped back. Her hands were enveloped in magic as she launched a purple orb at the women. Erza went up to block it with her sword but the orb exploded mere centimeters in front of her weapon, a whirl pool opening and sucking the blade into another world. Lucy grabbed two keys, both in one hand as she teleported herself behind the women, "Leo! Scorpio!" She called as she created a fist of magical energy and hurled it down at the redhead. The lion and scorpion appeared and sand was shot from one direction and golden energy from the other. Lucy smiled as she had the girl trapped, no weapon, and no way to escape.

Suddenly a sword filled her vision, two actually. They went out to block the attacks and then she sprung up and backed away. Her swords ready in front of her.

"She's like Erza." Lucy said quietly. "I wasn't sure but now I am," Lucy stood in between her two spirits. And she could feel Loke's cold gaze on her but she didn't seem to care enough to meet his eyes. "You know~" Lucy began. "You have the prettiest black hair. Oh, and your green eyes are gorgeous." Lucy pointed out, the woman was beautiful, she had to admit.

Erza was taken aback. "What?" She looked at the ends of her hair, and, as she thought, it was still red. "What are you talking about?"

Brain laughed behind them, his shoulders shaking as he did so. He grinned as he picked up Wendy where she had been tossed, and without effort he threw her over his shoulder. "The spell is working wonderfully." He looked at Cobra and tilted his head towards the direction of the cave.

The dragon slayer nodded and watched them all disappear in a flurry of magic. "Lucillia," he began, "we gotta go," the said woman looked back towards him, her eyes glowing a brilliant gold, but he could see the cloudiness in them that proved the spell had indeed taken effect.

"Awe~ Already?" She pouted. Cobra physically flinched back, the spell was even changing the way she spoke, it was turning into something she wasn't, "I wanted to see her bleed."

"Yeah, I know, babe, but come on, we gotta wake him." He said as he came up and placed a hand on her shoulder. He totally didn't mean to say babe but it had come out and now it was there. No taking it back now. It seemed to just be a reaction to the whine in her voice.

"Okay," her lip stuck out. "Where too?" She asked already summoning her magic.

"The cave," he whispered. She nodded and grabbed his hand, she covered them both in her magic. Erza leaped forward her swords out to attack them both, but with a pair of smirks, they vanished into a cloud of gold.

Erza's sword hit the ground and she collapsed, almost pleased that they were gone. She had hated that. It looked so much like Lucy, even the magic was the same, but it was just another trick like before. After all, that couldn't have been Lucy, the way she acted was completely different, and the magic she used. Yeah, she could still call out spirits but there was more. And Erza didn't like it. She couldn't fight this girl with all her strength, not when she looked so much like her best friend. Then Erza cursed, her body slumping to the ground even more. "They got Wendy," She said quietly.

~JM~

Lucy nearly passed out again as she and Cobra appeared in the cave, the heavy air already making it hard for her lungs to fill and deflate. She let go of her companion and leaned against the wall. She held her head as a splitting ache filled it. She closed her eyes and slumped to the floor.

"Just breath, You stressed your body a little too much. Your body's still weak from your training." He couldn't look her in the eye as he lied.

"Yeah I got that," she mumbled back.

"And hey, I thought you could only teleport to places you can see."

"Yeah, I thought that too but I had no trouble imagining a gate here, so maybe if I've been to the place before it's easier," she shrugged and he nodded. She stayed there, her breathing beginning to even out. And he watched her, it was so different now that he knew everything that she had been through, just how hard she had worked, everything she had lost and given up.

Cobra stood there awkwardly, his presence there obviously not needed. But before he left her alone in the dark room he said this, "You should make up with your Lion spirit. He misses you and you miss him." And before she could respond he was gone.

Lucy huffed as she watched the empty spot where he just was. She knew he was right, she knew Loke loved her. They were friends, companions, the Lion was and forever will be one of her most trusted allies and the way she had treated him was horrible.

He hadn't of deserved that. So, throwing aside her pride she went for his key. And as her fingers brushed against it a brilliant flash filled the room, and there he stood. His dress shoes, his pants, his tucked in shirt, his jacket, his tie. His sunglasses, his orange hair. His face held a small frown and his arms were crossed over his chest. But he held her gaze, his beautiful green eyes locked with her own brown ones. He didn't say anything, and neither did Lucy. There were no words needed. Tears welded up in Lucy's eyes and she ran towards him, her arms spread. His face morphed into a mask of surprise. And he opened his arms.

She collided with his chest almost violently, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his chest. She sobbed as she hugged him, and he could've laughed. He wrapped his arms around her and bent down, hugging her tight and nuzzling her hair. "Loke! I'm so sorry!" She sobbed, her voice cracked so bad he almost couldn't understand her. He laughed and pulled away, he looked at her watery face as he pushed her hair away.

"I know," was all he said as he pulled her back to him. They both slumped to the ground as she sobbed, her tears wetting his coat but he didn't care. Tears built in his own eyes, "I know. I know."

Lucy laughed as she cried, her arms wrapping around him again. They sat there for a while, just crying into each other's arms. "You've become so strong," he whispered. He kissed her forehead and pulled away, "I'm so proud of you."

She laughed as she wiped her face, "You say as I'm sobbing into your chest."

"Oh, that's the best time to say it." He smirked and she giggled and hugged him again.

"I love you Loke, you'll always be my family," she whispered.

"I love you too Lucy."

Cobra stood against the cave wall, his ears picking up the interaction. They really had an amazing bond, they lit up each other's worlds in a way a lover or friend could never do. It was a truly beautiful thing, and as he looked down to the ground he didn't notice the sad smile that crossed his face. Cobra patted Cubellios' head as he walked away.

* * *

 **The Loke and Lucy scene is dedicated to Carchee :)**


	10. She Felt Nothing

**Just Misunderstood**

 **Chapter 10**

 **Sorry for the late update, I was just having a really hard time with this chapter. It was slow but it has some really important elements in it. But just a reminder, this is going to be a long, slow story. Romance is going to start soon but I wanted it to happen naturally. So it will take a while, and I'm sorry for that but just bare with me.**

* * *

Loke just laid there, a smile on his face. He tried to stop it but he couldn't as the weight on his chest reminded him of why he was so happy. Her soft breathing was present on his neck and it sent chills down his back every time. He pulled the blanket that Virgo had dropped off over them both and hugged Lucy closer. She had dozed off while crying into his chest, naturally he had laid back with her, not to his own benefit, he assured himself. So he stared at the roof of the cave, the uneven rocks catching the light that flooded in from the outside. He ignored the cold stones underneath his back and focused on the warmth on his chest. He looked down at her, the girl he loved, the girl he treasured, the girl he would protect with everything he had. He, himself didn't know if he loved her in a romantic way or just generally. All he knew was that becoming Leo, for her, was the best thing he had ever done in all his years of life.

He was so happy in that instant, but his mind began to drift to other things. Something wasn't right with her new guild, something was very off. All of Lucy's spirits felt it, like she was under some kind of deep illusion, her mind seemed very cloudy at times now. Whenever she used her magic, she would lose control, she couldn't comprehend that she was hurting people, she _wanted_ to hurt people. Loke shifted as Lucy moved, he looked down at her. Her blonde hair was so much longer than usual, the ends were dyed black, it looked healthy, the blonde color not fading. He smiled, that meant she was eating and sleeping well. Her magic didn't seem like it was corrupting her, which means the lacrima was setting right, her body wasn't rejecting it. Loke couldn't really think of anything else physical that could be causing her behavior. He leaned back and sighed, he wasn't going to worry about it now. He was going to enjoy this moment, with this girl.

And he laid there. He dozed off multiple times, so he lost track of time. He heard the trees outside ruffle, and the wind blow through the cave's mouth, he saw the light dim and the time pass. He didn't really realize how long they had been there until he felt his magic began to waver, he had come out on his own, not wanting to use her power. But, of course, he could stay out longer than most but it was slightly uncomfortable. He was pulled from his thoughts when Cobra stepped into the room. His coat reflecting light, and his hair looking brighter than it was. "You should probably go. I need to wake her up, we finally got what we wanted so she's gotta come help," his voice was stiff and he looked off to the side. Not meeting Loke's eyes.

"You care for her," Loke's voice came before he could stop it. He clenched his eyes closed and opened them. Silently cursing at himself.

Cobra's eyes snapped to Loke's, and his purple irises surrounding his slitted pupils pulsated. His jaw clenched and unclenched, "Not any more than a guild member would," he said minutes later. "Now hurry up and leave, we've got things to deal with."

Loke scoffed, "Quite demanding aren't we?" He slid Lucy off of his chest and onto the blanket. "Just can't wait for me to leave her alone with you."

Cobra rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I'm not going to do this… boyfriend drama."

"I'm not her boyfriend," Loke sat up, "Romantic relationships between spirits and wielders is strictly forbidden." He stood up, stepping closer to the man.

Cobra rolled his eyes again, "Doesn't mean you don't love her," he pointed to his ears, "Her necklace blocks her own thoughts, not yours."

Loke flinched as a bright red blush crossed his face. He looked away from the snake bearer and willed it away. Either or would have worked.

Cobra smirked, "Ha, gotcha," he ignored the twisting feeling in his gut and spoke again, "But seriously, go," he walked over to Lucy and bent over, pinching her cheek. And with a little blush still apparent on his own cheeks, the spirit melted away into gold.

Cobra watched the spot the lion had been, golden particles still floated in the air. His eyes moved to Lucy, and he pinched her cheek harder. "Lucy." She moved. "Lucy." She groaned. Cobra rolled his eyes for the billionth time that day and pinched her nose. Her mouth fell open but he held her chin, forcing her mouth to close. It took a second but she sat up, sputtering and coughing. "Oh, hey," came Cobra's innocent greeting.

Lucy glared at him, "You couldn't just wake me up like a normal person?" She rubbed her cheek. Wondering why it hurt.

"I tired, but you were to busy sleep fucking your lion," he smirked.

Lucy blushed, "I was not! I dreamed about a jewelry heist, not that that matters, but I did not have a sex dream about Loke!"

Cobra stood, "Mhmm, sure."

Lucy stood as well, a blush still on her face, "It's not like you could tell! You can't hear my thoughts," she crossed her arms and huffed.

"Yeah, but did you know how easy it is to take it off while you sleep," he added nonchalantly and turned to leave. He smirked as she stuttered and blushed. And she ran after him as he walked out.

 **~JM~**

"Soft enough to offer life, tough enough to drown it away~," Cobra's voice was soft as he walked. He didn't really mean to say that out loud but…

"What?" Lucy asked. She looked up at him, her brow raised in confusion.

Cobra looked at her, his eyes piercing through her own, he opened his mouth. Wondering if he should tell her what he meant. "Nothing. It's just what you are to me."

Lucy scoffed while she rolled her eyes, "Sure." She kept walking, her hand moving branches out of the way and letting them go, hitting the snake bearer behind her. He only glared as he followed. They walked for a ways, the trees all blurring together. Purple flowers and brown patches of dirt were in clumps through the forest. She bent down one time while she was waiting for Cobra to finishing pissing on a tree, and she noticed a small purple flower with dark blood dried on the petals. She assumed it was from one of the light guilds or an animal had been injured. She didn't know why she felt compelled to pick it, but she did and Lucy put the stem into one of her pockets, letting the tainted petals peak out from the fabric.

They continued on, Lucy asked where they were going but only got a few vague answers in response. So she followed him, she always followed _him._

She focused on his back, his shoulders were broad and he was tall. His muscles apparent even through the layers of clothing he wore. His hair was short, but it was thick. The maroon color changing to lighter and darker shades as he passed through the light and shadows of the trees. His legs were long, and the maroon pants he wore matches his hair perfectly. Black straps were wrapped around the maroon fabric and tied tight around the edges of his black boots. His hands rested in his pockets and his posture seemed relaxed. Cubellios was hanging from his shoulders and her green eyes were watching the shadows on the ground. Her eyes every once and while would land on Lucy.

And the snake, every time, seemed to smile. Then her eyes would move away, and she would become interested in something else.

They walked until, eventually, they reached another cave. This one was different than the last one. It was cold, and vast, Lucy could tell as she heard the sound of her foot steps disappear into the darkness. But strangely enough, as she was enveloped in darkness her eyes adjusted, her irises contracted away from her pupils as they tried to absorb as much light as possible. And she shouldn't have been able to see, but she could. The darkness was brightened up as she blinked. Cobra's own eyes did the same and he watched her.

"It's the dragon slaying magic. It's enhancing your senses. Vision is your most powerful sense so it's the first to be strengthened," he said as he stepped forward. Lucy nodded and continued, the strain on her eyes giving her a headache. She resisted the urge to clamp them shut and followed Cobra, but even with the eyesight she tripped on rocks and old branches. And only when she fell into Cobra for the third time he grabbed her hand with a grumble.

His hand held hers tight, he pulled her forward, making sure she didn't fall into him again. It only got annoying the first time. He watched the darkness ahead of him, he heard Brain speaking, he heard everyone else deep in the cave. It took them awhile to reach said voices but when he did he couldn't take his eyes off Lucy, as she stood next to him. Her hand was still intertwined with his own and he pretended to forget it was there.

He looked towards Brain, he was standing over the girl, a sick smirk on his face. The sky maiden was seated on the ground, her eyes had tears in them but she did not let them fall. Midnight was awake now and standing, his presence probably not welcoming for the little girl. Racer, was seated on the ground panting, sweat running down his face. Angel was seated next to him, her hand on his knee and her eyes were trained on the floor in front of her. Hoteye was leaning against the wall, his gold chain being played with by his hands.

Lucy couldn't help but focus on the girl before her. Brain stood still, his face one of malice. "You will heal him," was all he said.

"No! That's not my Jellal! Mine was from another world!" she sobbed.

Lucy eye widened as she was just now noticing the tall coffin that was standing behind Brain. The huge iron doors were open and a man was hanging inside, his arms and body wrapped in chains. His skin was pale, and decorating it was patches of blue light. It was an eerie glow of blue, one she was sure she had seen before but no memory came to mind. On his right cheek was a red tattoo, or birthmark. It framed his eye, which was closed, the red lines of the mark throwing her off. Then his hair, beautiful blue. She was so sure she had seen this man before, everything about him was screaming at her to remember. Remember something about anything about anyone. She locked eyes with Cobra and she saw the tiniest glimmer of panic in them. She narrowed her eyes at the other slayer, he did the same back. Daring her to challenge him in any serious form. She would have too, Cobra knew it, Angel knew it, Brain knew it. But everything in the room froze when Wendy was thrown across the room. Lucy snapped to attention, her eyes watching the small girl crumble to the ground. Lucy, for some reason, felt nothing. No happiness, no horror, she just watched as the girl sobbed into her hands. She now had a deep cut present on her forehead and the blood was raining down her face.

"You will heal him. This is Jellal. He raised you in those woods, all by himself. He gave up parts of his childhood for you. And you're saying you won't heal him? You won't repay the favor?" Brain's voice was ice and his look was even colder.

"That isn't my Jellal!" She cried. Cobra looked at her, he was searching.

"Mystogan?" He said out loud.

Lucy flinched as a sudden joint went through her head.

Cobra pretended to ignore Lucy's reaction to the name and he continues. "Edolas? Woah, counterparts?" He listened closer. His mind whirring as he processed the existence of a different world.

 **~JM~**

I was so upset. I was angry and sad. I had never felt anything like this. My eyes were wide as I smelled her scent. It was so foreign but oh god, how I remembered it. In a sudden flash of blonde and black I felt the hard floor meet my back. Her familiar arms touched me, her hands, her legs. I was so afraid to open my eyes, so afraid to see if I was wrong. But I knew I was right. My eyes cracked open, and my vision was filled with _her._ Big, beautiful brown eyes, creamy fair skin, straight blonde hair. She was wearing black leather, which was strange, but I didn't care as I wrapped my arms around her.

"I found you," the words left my mouth. And then I woke up.

Natsu's eyes cracked open. His vision blurry. It took him a few moments to realize he was laying on the hard forest floor. Hibiki and some of the other were sitting near by. The said man was typing vigorously on archive and the others were talking softly.

Natsu's eyes found Erza leaning against a tree, her eyes were closed but her eyebrows trembled. "Erza?" His voice was groggy and his throat dry.

Her head raised and she met his eyes. They were red, and her face was blotchy. "They took Wendy," her voice was soft but it cracked with pain. He asked what happened, his voice sounding so far away. He didn't have the energy to be angry, his muscles ached and his head pounded. He just watched Erza's mouth move and listened to the words that left it. She described everything that had happened with Lucy. Well, fake Lucy, they had decided. Gray was seated not too far away from them, his back leaning against a tree, the hard bark scraping at his skin but he didn't mind. His head rolled back and he looked up at the sky.

"We can't just sit here."

"I know."

"We need to get Wendy."

"I know."

"She's so special."

"I know."

But no one moved. Their hearts ached along with their bodies and they didn't move. They really couldn't move. "What is that was really Lucy?" It left Erza's mouth. "She looked like Lucy, but it wasn't a copy of her. It looked like she tried to change her appearance, long hair, black tips. Her eyes were gold, and her clothes were so different." She pondered.

Natsu snapped his head up, "No way. That wasn't her. That couldn't have been her."

Then Gray stood, his bones creaking and his head pounding.

"Loke!" He screamed into the sky. He screamed it again, and again.

"Come on Loke! I know you can hear me! I'm one of your best friends! Come on!" But all he got in return was silence.

Natsu stood as well, his eyes wide. "What the hell Gray. The enemies going to hear us." It was so weird to hear that from Natsu's mouth. Who knew Natsu would be the voice of reason in a situation like this.

Then as if to prove a point to the dragon slayer a brilliant flash filled their vision. They heard the sound of someone landing on their feet. They heard the sound of expensive cloth move.

And once they all blinked the light away their eyes found a man. His hair beautiful orange, his suit black and crisp. His glasses reflected the sun but his emerald green eyes still shone through them. Gray smiled a huge grin, teeth and all. It had been such a while since his face had looked like that. "Loke!" It was pure joy.

The man stepped back, "Who are you, and why can I hear your call?" His voice came shakey. And he eyed the man before him.

"What?" It was barely a whisper.

Erza then stood, "Lucy didn't know it was me either."

"You mean fake Lucy." Natsu shot towards her.

Erza shook her head. "No, this Lucy. I think she was real. I think she was our Lucy." Her voice was so small and soft, nothing like Erza's voice should sound like.

Then before any of the mages could react Loke was in front of Gray, his green eyes glowing gold. His hand went out to grasp the ice mage's neck and he pinned him to the tree that stood behind him.

"How do you know Lucy! How do you know me! Why can I hear your call! Who are you!" Fangs seemed to grow from the Lion's mouth and he snarled.

"Loke! What the hell!?" Gray gasped as he grabbed at the hands around his neck, it took him some strength but he managed to push the spirit off.

"Why do you know Lucy?" His voice calmed.

"What do you mean? She's our best friend, she's a part of our team. She's part of Fairy Tail." Natsu stepped forward.

The lion spirit flinched back as a jolt ran through his head, he shut his eyes and images danced on the inside of his eyelids. Memories, of Fairy Tail, memories of Lucy with her team. So many different scenes and scents and sounds filled his mind, his heart clenched and unclenched as it desperately pumped blood through his veins.

He locked eyes with the ice mage, his green irises mixing with Gray's blue. "Gray?" It came out so light, so breathy. "Erza? Natsu?" his pupils flicked in between them all.

"What the fuck has Brain done to us?"

* * *

 **Shorter chapter than what I'm used too but I'm glad I got something out. ;D**


	11. Don't, Erik

**Just Misunderstood**

 **Chapter 11**

* * *

Lucy noticed that her hand was still laced with Cobra's.

But she didn't move to remove it. She looked back up at him, his eyes piercing through the small girl. Brain's patience seemed to be fading as he stood, his face one of pure annoyance. His fingers curled tightly around his staff, as if he was holding himself back from striking the girl. He wanted to let Cobra finish, he wanted to know what this little girl knew.

"Listen, Kid," Cobra stepped forward and knelt down, bringing Lucy with him. Lucy was a familiar face, at least to the child. It would be the only way to get through to the sky maiden.

Wendy wiped the tears from her eyes but they were quickly replaced. She had finally noticed Lucy, and a smile crossed her face, "Lucy!?" She exclaimed as she lunged forward to hug the girl. Lucy let go of Cobra as she fell back, the small girl on top of her.

Lucy's eyes wipped to Cobra, and he mouthed that he would explain later, but to play along. Wendy pulled back and laughed, "I'm really sorry, you don't know me. But I heard so much about you. I even met your counterpart," Wendy laughed. "I went to Edolas with Fairy Tail, they told me so much about you."

Lucy couldn't help but feel confused. Edolas? Counterparts? Fairy Tail? She sat up as Wendy did. Lucy shook her head, she knew Fairy Tail, that was her family. But they were gone, they had left her. Well, after she had left them. But Lucy's head hurt as she thought about it more, she looked at the man in the iron coffin. And suddenly it clicked, "Jellal." It was a mere whisper but Cobra heard it, of course, and he met her eyes.

He nodded his head, helping her. "Jellal and Erza. Erza." Lucy looked down at the girl. "You care about Erza correct?" Lucy's voice was smooth and her words alluring.

Wendy nodded eagerly. "Well, this man, is Jellal. He was with Erza since she was a little girl. She grew up loving this man. She loves this man. And healing him, reviving him, will make her happy. It would make her so happy," Lucy spoke and the words that left her mouth were true, but they weren't hers. For some reason she didn't know if any of it was true, it was just an idea that was sitting in the back of her mind.

Wendy looked down, her eyes wide. For many moments they sat there, Lucy didn't move, Cobra didn't move, no one moved. Cobra just sat there, his hand dangerously close to Lucy's as they both supported them on the ground.

Then, without any real warning Wendy stood, and she walked over to where Jellal hung from the chains. And then with some effort her hands started to produce a warm blue glow.

 **~JM~**

Loke stood next to Gray. The men watched as Natsu ran off. Fire coming off of him in waves and a bounce in his step. Erza laughed.

"Well? Are you guys coming?" She took off, but she turned as she ran, "We gotta save Lucy and Wendy!" She called. She waved and ran off after the fire mage.

Loke and Gray looked at each other, a huge grin crossing both of their faces. Gray slapped Loke on the back and they took off in the direction of their friends.

Cobra heard them from a mile away. He probably could have heard them with normal hearing, they were yelling and shouting. He met Racer's eyes and he nodded towards the forest, then he turned to grab Lucy's hand. He pulled her out of cave and he heard Racer walking not far behind them. Lucy's sounds of protest were apparent in his ears and he squeezed her hand to shut her up. And when he finally had some silence he listened closely to where the mages were, he smirked as he picked Lucy up and nodded towards Racer, then they both jumped. His feet breaking the bridge of leaves and branches that were growing over the edge of the cliff. Lucy screamed as they fell, and she clung on tight to Cobra's neck, her face being buried into his neck. He laughed as he landed heavy on the ground, he clapped Racer on the back as he landed next to him and he set Lucy on her feet.

"What the hell?" She slapped his arm, "You couldn't warn me?"

"You're lucky I didn't just shove you," He added as he brushed leaves from his pants. He then turned and his eyes met onyx. Lucy's met brown. And Racer's met blue.

Cobra laughed, "Well, that was a good shortcut."

Natsu's eyes were wide, his heart was beating so fast. His eyes didn't want to move from Cobra, he was so afraid that if he met her eyes he would crumble. But he couldn't stop himself. His eyelids closed over his eyes and as he opened them they slid over to the short blonde that was standing right behind Cobra. Her eyes seemed to do the same as she caught his gaze, their vision never straying from each other. Natsu didn't move, he wanted to, holy shit how he wanted too. But he saw the tension in her shoulders and the stiffness in her joints. He saw the way Cobra watched him, the purple eyes seemed to burn with a fire only a fire dragon should possess.

Lucy stood there, every muscle screamed at her to move, but she didn't understand why. She didn't know this man. She didn't know the people with him, she recognized the girl with black hair and green eyes that she had fought earlier. Lucy didn't mean to move, she was willing herself not too but she stepped forward, then again, and again. And before she truly realized what her body was doing her hand was on his cheek. His hair was dark red, almost black, and his eyes were a beautiful blue. He was tall, and he didn't look like anyone she knew.

But she knew him. She had too, her head ached painfully and she grimaced. She looked to the other man with them, he was dark skinned, his hair white and his eyes brown. She knew him as well.

Her eyes moved back to the one before her.

"Is the spell going to hold?" Racer whispered to Cobra. Cobra shook his head. His eyes wide as he watched.

"I'm not sure. I can't get into her head." His voice sounded so panicked, his heart was beating so rapidly in his chest, he felt it scream against his rib cage and protest against his lungs. His breathing was heavy and his hands was clenched so tightly his fingernails drew blood from his palms.

"Damn," he hissed.

"Lucy?" Natsu whispered. He reached up and placed his hand on top of where her's was on his cheek.

And so slowly, Lucy's vision was changed. The red in the man's hair melted away, and pink was exposed, his skin darkened just a tad and his eyes flickered between blue and onyx green before stilling on the beautiful dark green color. A heavy breath left her lungs and she barely had enough breath to mutter a single name, "Natsu?"

Cobra cursed, and he was behind Natsu in seconds. "No!" Lucy screamed, "Cobra don't!" She jumped in front of Natsu and her eyes caught his in the flurry of movement. His eyes looked so pained. This man, who was usually so stoic and so cut off. This man who never told her how he felt, this man who never shared any of his feelings. This man that she had barely known a week. This man that pushed at her buttons and aggravated her, and pissed her off, drove her to drink. She didn't like him, she would choose Fairy Tail a hundred times over him.

So then why, when she saw the pure pain in his eyes, her own began to tear up?

"Lucilla!" It was a male voice, strong and unforgiving, it wasn't Cobra, or Racer, it wasn't Natsu or Gray. Cobra heard it, _his_ magic building before it exploded, he tried to reach for Lucy but his muscles froze and he was thrown back, a scream was ripped from everyone's mouth as they were all violently thrown to the forest floor. Fairy Tail was scattered, their bodies colliding with trees and the hard ground. Racer slammed into a rock and his recent injuries were discovered again.

Brain stood in front of Lucy, his eyes seemed to glow green as he looked down at her with hate. Lucy suddenly felt fear, a type of fear that she hadn't felt in a while. It was the type of fear that sent chills racking through her body, it blew cold breath down her throat, it paralyzed her body. The entire forest seemed to darken, the trees hung forward and the leaves turned black as they fell. Green mist seemed out of the ground around the man and his eyes shot arrows through Lucy's. The air was so cold, every breath was painful as it dried her throat. "Lucilla," his voice was so low, "Have you chosen to betray us?"

Lucy's spine felt as though it was going to pulled out of her skin, the bare weight that seemed to be sitting on her heart was already enough to make her say this, "No, never," she was cut off by Brain's staff hitting the ground.

"Brain!" Cobra's voice was loud behind them all. Lucy's eyes moved to him, his head was bleeding and something appeared to be wrong with his shoulder. He was breathing heavy but he stood strong. His eyes were piercing through Brain's. "Don't."

Brain laughed, it was cold and jagged. "Why do you care Cobra? Do you feel for this girl?"

Cobra flinched. He couldn't say no, but he couldn't say yes because he didn't know. He honestly didn't know, he had no idea. Cobra was one that always knew exactly what was going on, he always could manipulate everyone around him. He could tell what people were thinking and act accordingly. But when it came to this girl, he had no idea what to do. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, couldn't manipulate her by acting on her thoughts. He couldn't read her. She was capricious and tempestuous, she never did what she was told, and even when she did it, it was in the most shocking way. She was smart and strong in her own untrained and messy way. She had been through a lot for her short life. She was only seventeen, she had lost her mother, been isolated by her father, and she ran away at sixteen. She then found a home, a new family, but then she left them.

And then she lost them. Cobra knew how much that had hurt her, he had felt it firsthand. Cobra knew pain, he knew that pain can change someone. He was taken from his home, his family. He was dragged to that tower, he was beaten, he was tortured, he was forced to work.

He was twenty-three. He was young and attractive, he should be out having fun and screwing girls, drinking and going on missions. But here he was, standing in a forest, looking for an ancient magic that might not even exist, and if it did exist all they could do with it is destroy people. Why was he here?

He chose to come. He chose to help. He wanted to help his guildmates, the few people in the world he actually loved. But now, he was here, his eyes ripping holes through Brain, a man he respected. And for what?

A girl. He was challenging his guild master, Brain, this all powerful, psycho, split personality they called their leader. Cobra closed his eyes. He heard all of the thoughts of the people around him, the other dragon slayer, the fire one, and Lucy were the only ones still conscious. Natsu's thoughts were almost going too fast to follow, which from what he got from his journey in Lucy's mind was a shocking thing. His foot was broken from what he could tell but he didn't seem to care as he tried to get up to get to Lucy's side. He was thinking about everything that was happening, trying to figure out why Lucy was with them, and how she was, and how everything went in the spirit world. His biggest thought, to Cobra's surprise, was why Lucy and him seemed so close.

Brain's mind was completely empty, which meant he was blocking his thoughts from Cobra's ears. It was a different feeling than with Lucy, with Lucy it was like he was being completely blocked by a wall, but with Brain he could get into his mind. But it was empty, like he learned to store his thoughts somewhere Cobra couldn't reach.

"Don't, Erik." Brain's voice came to his ears.

Cobra growled when his name was released from his Master's mouth.

"You must never forget. I am the only one who will ever know the true you. She will never know, or understand. She would never accept you." Brain's words hit Cobra straight in his gut. The air in his lungs was knocked out of him and he almost stumbled back.

"She is obviously corrupting you. So I just have to fix her. She is too valuable to lose," Brain turned back to Lucy. Her eyes were wide and tears were leaking out of them, her body was shaking, the sheer magic that was being weighed down on her was tearing her apart.

Cobra wanted to move to her, he wanted her to be by her side in that instant. He knew what Brain was going to do. He was going to maximize the spell. The spell that he had put on her the moment he had knocked her out when Fairy Tail had returned.

It was attached to the lacrima in her back, whenever she used her magic the spell would activate, and the more she used her magic it ate away at her. Brain had used her attachment to Fairy Tail in the moment he set the spell to bind it to her. So, whenever she would think about Fairy Tail her view of them was changed, their appearances, their voices, their personalities.

But now, he was going to take it to the next level.

Cobra heard the swell of magic, and he couldn't move. He watched Lucy's eyes widen and he heard a yell, at first he thought it was Natsu's but then he realized it was his own. Green light filled the forest and Lucy's screamed filled his ears.

 **~JM~**

"I broke the pink one's other foot and then broke the ice mage's hand, I was going to finish the job but the redhead woke up and got them out of there," Angel's voice was calm as she walked besides Cobra. Cobra nodded, he was going to speak but a lump was present in his throat. He shifted Lucy on his back and continued walking. He locked his hand under her legs and tried to ignore the chills that ran down his back when her breath puffed out. He pretended not to notice the way Angel was looking at him and he rolled his eyes.

"You know I liked her too," Angel said quietly as she watched the ground in front of her.

Cobra scoffed, "We barely know her," again, he pretended not to notice the way she looked at him.

Angel scoffed back at his scoff. "You knew enough, you sat there and went through her entire life."

Cobra rolled his eyes, "I shouldn't of told you that."

"Well, you did."

"I shouldn't have."

"Well."

"Stop that."

"What?"

"You're being passive aggressive."

"I'm really not."

"I can literally hear your thoughts. Do you want to try again?"

Angel laughed and her smile softened as she watched Lucy. "Why did her words mean so much to us?"

Cobra pondered this for a moment. "Because I think we knew that if she had known the true 'us' that she would have been okay with it."

"We knew going in that she wasn't going to be with us long." Angel muttered. Angel had barely spent enough time with Lucy to truly love her. But from what Angel could see Lucy could have been a huge part of her life, if given the chance. Angel looked at Cobra, and she smiled sadly. Lucy would have been so good for Cobra, they had been with each other only a few days but she could already see the change in the poison dragon slayer. He could have loved her, he could have cared for her.

But now all chances of anything more happening was gone. Brain had completely destroyed them. Now Lucy would wake up, nothing but an empty shell, with no memories, no feelings, only power. She will truly become the puppet he's always wanted.

Angel nearly jumped out of her skin when Lucy groaned on Cobra's back. The blonde shifted and Cobra leaned her up against a tree, keeping her head up with his hand on her cheek.

"Lucy?" He whispered.

The only thing he received was her eyes snapping open. And then he waited for them to change. Change to brown, green, blue, anything. Any color besides the color they were right now. But it felt like years, and they still just stared through him.

She blinked slowly, and even when her eyes opened again they still remained… a dim, lifeless shade of gold.


	12. Chapter Update

Okay, I'm really sorry, I haven't updated in forever. I've been really stuck on chapter 12. I make it a priority to look and try to write a little bit every night but I'm not making much progress. I'm really sorry about that. So, I'm only updating now to give myself a solid deadline. I always work better with a deadline. I am GOING to get the next chapter out by the 26th. Of March. I promise.

Okay, next thing on the list. Sequel. I have already written about three different endings for Just Misunderstood. And the one I'm leaning too will require a sequel. Not a long one, maybe like ten chapters. Me, myself, I hate sequels, whenever a fan fiction has a sequel I think it's a little extra. But this one will make a lot of sense. I can't say much without completely giving away the ending. I have a few possible titles, "Raising a King", "For Lila", or "Becoming a King."

So without even knowing what the story is about which one sounds more appealing?

Okay, next. Like some people know this will be a long story, I'm thinking maybe, at least, 50 chapters. There will be multiple arcs and this is only the first one. I will go into many story lines that the original story follows, like tenrou, GMG and maybe some of the dragon arc.

So, that's all, thank you for reading and I promise I'll get the next chapter out.

-Wrecked_Progress


	13. Never Look Away

**A little early, yay. I'm really not happy with this chapter, but I suddenly had a lot of time to write because I've been in the hospital a lot. I'm fine, It's my grandmother, she's really old and they found lung cancer so she's going through chemo, she should be fine, she is healthy for her age and they found it early. I've been staying a few nights while she goes through it and there isn't much to do. I've rewritten it a few times in the past couple nights and this is really the best I could get it. It's short and nothing entirely important happens but it is essential for the future.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

* * *

He wasn't a torturer, he wasn't evil. He hated that damned word, for years he had been called that. He punched. He was so sick of being called that. He punched again. He wasn't evil. He wasn't a murderer. He kicked. He wasn't evil. He wasn't evil. He wasn't. Cobra jumped back as a gigantic ice dragon erupted from thin air. "You're just a monster!" Lyon yelled out as he attacked. Cobra growled in his throat. He wasn't. He wasn't. He wasn't. He didn't like this, he wasn't enjoying himself. It was a job, a way to get money, and power. Isn't that what light guilds do too? They all thought they were so much fucking better than everybody else, but in reality, they're all just too fucking scared of actually hurting someone. They were never willing to do what needed to be done.

Even now, Cobra's opponent was pulling his punches, using half-assed attacks that would only knock him out if they actually connected. He wasn't going for the kill, and that's what would be his downfall. " _I need to finish this and get to Gray and the others, they were hurt badly. We still need to rescue the_ _Cait_ _Shelter girl and defeat these_ _fuckers_ _."_

Cobra would have rolled his eyes if he cared enough. He dodged another attack and whipped behind the ice mage, he kicked the man in the side of the head and he went flying. "Well, then again, I guess I didn't go for the kill either," he muttered to himself as he watched the other mage try to get up again. "Yo, hey, stay down. I'm having a bad day and I really don't want to have to take it out on you."

Lyon scoffed and rose to his feet again, but his movements stopped when a flash of gold and purple locked her arms around his neck. "One move and you're dead," she whispered in Lyon's ear.

"Ah, see~ I tried to get you to stay down. Now you answer to her," Cobra laughed, but it was forced as ever. It had been a little over a few hours since Lucy had woken up. The results, were as expected…. She had already taken out a few of the Blue Pegasus men and she seemed to feel no remorse.

She felt nothing now. She just walked beside him, fought and then returned to him, like a dog. It unsettled him to no end, he hated it. He watched how her arm shifted slightly and the man's neck made a grotesque snapping noise and he fell to his knees before falling to the ground. Cobra knew the man was alive, and he was about to question the reason when she spoke up, "He's a major player in a major light guild. It'd cause more trouble than it'd be worth to kill him," her voice was completely monotone. She stood there for a second, her eyes searching Lyon. But then she looked up and stepped over his body and returned to Cobra's side. Cobra looked down at Lucy and she met his eyes. And even though her eyes were so brilliantly bright, they were still so dull. They showed her lack of emotion and Cobra's stomach twisted painfully at that realization. And so he tried something, he reached up to her neck and watching her reaction, he pulled the necklace off of her. She just continued watching his eyes. No change in her expression.

 _-nothing-_

Cobra sneered. He hated that. He hated that so much. It became so disgusting to hear the emptiness in her mind, knowing that he wouldn't be striking a rise out of her for stealing the necklace or getting any hidden bashful thoughts. He would only get an eerie echo. It wasn't anything like her and that bothered him it, bothered him no end. He hated it. He hated so much. He hated all of it. He hated Nirvana. This forest. The people around him. The stupid flowers. The trees. He hated the air. He didn't want to be here. Lucy stood there, still watching him.

 _-don't let her get to you-_

He looked away.

- _but never look_ _away-_

His eyes found her's again.

 _-don't forget her face when she's gone-_

He turned away, it didn't mean anything. He didn't care, he couldn't care. He took a deep breath and stepped into the forest.

 **~JM~**

So four hours later and Cobra still hated everything. Only one thing had changed. He hated it more now.

He groaned as he heard his bones creak as he sat up in the pile of rubble. He glanced up at the Cobra shaped hole etched in the side of the cliff. He ran his hand through his hair, ridding it of the dust and rocks. He watched Lucy jump on Hibiki's shoulders'. Her thighs wrapped around his head and she leaned back, using her small size to bring him down to the ground. Her hands were there to break her fall as she slammed Hibiki into the ground. She jumped up and magic danced across her skin, she seemed to sense it before even he could because she leaned back as a cloud of mist violently shot past her. She held her nose as she disappeared. Her necklace back on her neck, she reappeared several meters away. She coughed and sniffed, her eyes glowed in fury and they whipped to Ichiya who was standing near the edge if the clearing.

"Parfume!" He shouted as he grabbed another bottle of pink mist. Lucy disappeared again and after a few well-placed kicks there and a single roar here the S-Class mage was lying, smoking, on the ground. Lucy looked down at him and her eyes shone a brilliant gold like they always did now. Purple magic poured out of Lucy and it all concentrated on the small body of the man on the floor. She was going to kill him. Cobra was sure of it, she was actually going to kill him. But her magic was suddenly cut off when a flash of silver was plunged deep into her forearm.

All she did was step back and pull the long knife out of her arm, she threw it up and purple and gold devoured it as it vanished, Lucy, putting it into the spirit world so the requip mage could no longer use it. Well, not like she didn't have more. Another sword came towards Cobra, he knew to move and he was going too when Lucy appeared in front of him, she caught the blade with her bare hand. She winced slightly as the sharp metal sliced into her clenched palm but she flipped the blade and threw it back at the Fairy Tail mage. Erza came out of the tree line and the sword disappeared right in front of her. Lucy's golden eyes honed in on Erza and pure hate showed within them. Lucy disappeared and suddenly the same sword that was before embedded in Lucy's wrist was pressing against Erza's throat.

"You really do like attacking from behind don't you?" Erza asked with a small smirk. She pulled her head forward and brought it back, and with more force than was necessary, her head collided with Lucy's nose and the blonde staggered back while Erza stepped away. Lucy just wiped the blood away from her nose before taking a deep breath, then she disappeared again. Erza almost rolled her eyes. But she stopped when Lucy reappeared in the same spot. The air changed suddenly as it went completely still, Erza's muscles tensed and she didn't have time to move when a giant roar of purple and gold hit her dead on. She felt her skin burn and peel as the magic ate away at her skin. She tried not to scream but she did as the skin melted away. It felt like years before the roar finally melted away. She felt her knees try to give out but she stood strong, she was so afraid to look at her arms, knowing that looking would make them hurt more. She watched as Lucy wiped her mouth, and stood still. Her gold eyes seemingly dull as the moon would be shrouded in clouds.

Erza growled and light filled her form before she reappeared wielding dual swords. Her hair was high in a ponytail and red pants covered her legs. A deep breath came from her lungs and she closed her eyes. Lucy moved slightly, and with that tiny step, Erza was there. Cold steel pressed against Lucy's neck and blood appeared in a sharp line. "Lucy, this isn't you!"

 _-but it really was-_

Lucy's face held nothing, and Erza's eyes saw nothing as Lucy filled her palm with a thick orb of magic. "That's where you're wrong," she seemed to smile. "But I won't hold that against you, you barely know me."

All Lucy saw was Erza's look of pure despair and guilt before Lucy slammed her palm on the older mage's shoulder. "Goodbye, Erza."

Lucy let the orb explode and she didn't even try to control whether it would harm Erza or not because once she got there she would be dead anyway.

- _and she didn't care-_

 **~JM~**

Cobra laid his head back and sighed, "Stay down," he mumbled when he heard her getting up.

"I'm not tired," her voice was flat.

"I don't care."

Lucy laid back down and her eyes found the night sky. Her hands felt the grass under her, her skin felt the cold chill of the late air. Her golden eyes searched the constellations before her. Her fingers twiddled with the smooth bead of her necklace, it was several minutes before she looked away from the night sky she almost once ruled.

Her eyes went to the man lying beside her, his hands were behind his head and his eyes were closed. She turned on her side and fully faced him. She became trained on the eight little beads of his necklace, and without her really realizing it her hand moved to trace them. Cobra's eyes fluttered open and he watched her intently. She moved closer so her front was pressing against his side as she continued to fiddle with the matte beads. Cobra tried to stop himself but words fell from his mouth, "What are you doing?"

"These are pretty."

"I know," Cobra whispered. Then they sat there in the still air that came with the silence. They didn't know if it was seconds or minutes or hours, they just laid there, drifting in and out of sleep. His eyes slid down to look at her, and he found her eyes looking up at him. He ignored the small smiled that cracked into his mask when her breath puffed out onto his neck. Her eyes closed and her head moved down to his shoulder. Then his entire heart constricted as a feeling snaked its way into him.

- _why do_ _i_ _miss_ _her-_

He tightened his grip on her side.

- _she's right_ _here-_

"But you really aren't," he whispered aloud.

Lucy didn't ask about his words as if she didn't care. It took him a second to realize she didn't. "Do you know what it feels like to miss someone who isn't gone?"

Lucy shrugged, "Once, possibly. But I wouldn't remember the feeling know," she said with little interest.

"It was stupid of me to ask you," he mumbled.

"Yes, indeed," she said back. Cobra almost got excited, but he realized that this wasn't their playful banter. It was pure, brutal, emotionless truth.

Then an idea hit him, Lucy wasn't afraid of hurting his feelings. She would tell the truth no matter who it hurt. So he let the question roll off his tongue. "Am I a monster?" It felt like an entire lifetime before she answered, and even when she said it he barely heard her over the pounding in his ears.

"No."

 **~JM~**

Erza screamed as she felt the fiery orb of magic collided with her skin. She felt as though her entire spine was going to rip out of her skin, and the latter already felt like it was being burned with metal rods. She hit the rough cobblestone hard and she screamed as it collided with her burnt skin. She tried to inhale the air she had banished with her scream but the air just burned her lungs. She sputtered and coughed, blood spilled onto the ground as her throat was scared. "Erza!?" A male voice yelled in surprise, he slid up next to her and pulled a small watch off of his wrist and quickly put in on Erza's. Air filled her lungs again but she continued to gag and cough. "Calm down. Just breath. In and out," he rubbed her back.

After several minutes she rolled over and her watery eyes met her savior's. "Loke."

He sat next to her, his face was one of surprise. "Why are you here? How'd you get here?" He questioned.

Erza sat up and looked around, it was a few seconds before she dropped her head in her hands. "She tried to kill me?" Erza whispered.

"Lucy?" Loke sat back on his heels. "No, no she's out of her mind now but she would never hurt you."

Erza snapped her head, "Well she did!" She turned away, "She didn't even care. She just stared at me with a blank expression. I have never seen her like that, it's like that wasn't really her. It was kind of like what happened to you."

Loke thought for a moment, "I don't know what to do anymore. With me, it was just like you guys looked really different, and my memories were really hazy, but it was really easy to break out of it."

"We were there when Brain did something, he fought with Cobra about it. I have no idea what happened, though. I hit my head and I couldn't hear anything because of the blast." Erza stood up. "It has to have something to do with Brain, he put a spell or an illusion on her."

Loke stood as well, "It obviously reaches the spirits under her command as well, but it's not as strong. I was talking to some of the other spirits and they had trouble remembering Fairy Tail as well. But it seems to affect everyone differently."

"She almost killed me, I'm her best friend. If killing your own best friend doesn't shock someone out of that then what will?"

Loke looked down. He didn't want to say it, he knew it would hurt Lucy. He knew if he did he would put an even larger target on the light guilds, especially Fairy Tail.

"Okay, so a spell this strong has to have a binding point. It's most likely her lacrima, a person, or both. Brain isn't stupid enough to make it someone from Fairy Tail because that would mean if that person was harmed the spell would break. So it is probably a person that Brain knows will live. Someone that is strong and Lucy would never have to fight. Someone she would protect without worrying about herself?"

Realization dawned on Erza's face. "No..."

"Who does she seemed attached to now? Who's side is she sticking too? Who will she always run too?"

"Cobra."

* * *

 **Oh and thank you all for giving me your opinions for the sequel's title. It was really helpful, so please, as the story continues tell me which ones you like. Maybe as it continues certain titles will make more sense :D**


	14. A Flicker

**Just Misunderstood**

 **Chapter 13**

 **A Flicker**

* * *

"Cobra?" Loke looked at her, "Really?! How could she be so attached to him in this short amount of time?!" He growled as he led Erza too Lucy's old bedroom. "How? He's insensitive, arrogant, rude, incompetent. He's a plain old dick!" He fumed.

"I don't know Loke. Back when Brain was casting the spell on Lucy he tried to stop it. I think he almost challenged Brain," Erza pondered.

Loke stopped in front of the door, "He cares for her. I know that. It's obvious. How could he not? Lucy is an amazing person, she would accept anyone. She's beautiful and caring, smart, understanding. She's just amazing. And she was in a vulnerable state, she couldn't see how they were using her, she trusted them- sorry him. She trusted Cobra since the beginning, I don't know why, I don't get it, I never will. But it's hard. I should have been there, you guys should have been there. Someone other than Cobra should have been there!" Loke yelled, his voice shaking violently.

Erza put her hand on his shoulder, "At least she's alive. I don't know, I have a feeling that if Brain and Cobra hadn't of taken her in she would be dead right now. It's just a deep feeling in my gut. I'm almost really grateful for Cobra, Brain needs to get the hell out but Cobra…" her thought trailed off.

Loke shook his head and a laugh without amusement left his lips. "Let's get you healed, the water should help," He said as he pulled the shower curtain back.

~JM~

Something happened to him that day. That damn day that would change the rest of his life. He was lying on his bed, his arms behind his head, his eyes trained on a spot on his ceiling. He heard it before his hair stood on end, the sudden swell of magic.

A heavy sigh left his mouth and he sat up. "Cobra!" It was angry, scared, strong. He was out of his room with the call. He shut his mouth tight when he saw the sight that was still in the middle of manifesting in the hallway. Brain stood, his hair a mess and his clothes covered in blood. He was panting and he groaned as he dropped a weight on the ground.

"Damn, her magic is suffocating," he mumbled to himself.

She was beautiful, which should have been impossible. She was unconscious on the floor, her hair a golden blonde, her skin a milky white, her features one of a princess. Blood seeped in a pool as she lay, the red color corrupting her pure facade.

"What? Who is she?"

Brain scoffed, "I have no idea."

Cobra waited for him to continue but his master just continued to brush dirt from his coat. "Sooo…"

Brain looked up, "Ah yes, I found her in the empty plains of Magnolia. She was releasing enormous amounts of raw power. She can be an asset," he stopped for a moment, "Enough of this, she's injured. Take her to the infirmary, call me when she wakes," he turned with a dramatic coat flip and disappeared into the darkness of his room.

Cobra's eyes blanked on the wall. He squatted low and his hands went to rest on his temples. A deep sigh erupted from his mouth and he dropped his hands to his thighs. He looked towards the girl currently staining his hardwood floors and a groan left his mouth, "I should've gone out tonight. Angel invited me, I said no. Why the fuck did I say no?"

He hooked his hand under her knee and the other under her shoulders. He grimaced as warm blood soaked his hand and he pulled her against him. "Where the fuck is the infirmary?"

~JM~

Lucy's eyes cracked open and dark hair filled her vision. She was laying on her side, and her front was pressed to a man. Her first instinct was to shove him away but strong arms kept her locked there. She looked up and she found Cobra. His eyes were closed and his head tilted up. His hair was fluffy and fanned out as far as it could. His breath was heavy and a slight snore left his throat every now and then.

His coat was laid out on top of them and Lucy almost found herself burying her head further into his neck. Almost. She pulled back and broke from his grasp, she stood fast and brushed off her clothing. "Cobra," he didn't move, "Cobra."

His eyes opened slightly and purple hit the sunlight. He rolled on his back and he stretched. "Yo."

Lucy looked away, "We need to find Brain and the others."

Cobra sat up and looked at her, she cleared her throat. Lucy listened to the world around her, nothing. "Do you hear anything?" She said quietly.

Cobra scoffed, "Of course," but as he listened closer he realized that he didn't. He stood slowly and met her eyes, "Actually…" Lucy had time to tackle Cobra to the ground before a shock wave ripped branches off of trees. Her hands went to his shoulders and her chest went to guard his. Violent wind whipped at their clothes and the forest around them, rocks flew past with unfathomable speed. Several hundred feet away their eyes were called to a massive pillar of light erupting from the ground. It shot thousands of feet into the air and it filled the dark forest with a brilliant glow.

~JM~

Cobra groaned as he put the unconscious girl on the old bed sheets. Cubellios climbed his body and draped herself across his shoulders. He huffed and found a place to lean against the wall. His eyes watched her as she slept. She was quiet at first but small whimpers left her mouth and tears leaked from her closed eyes. Cubellios dropped onto the floor with a hard thump and it even startled him, the large snake found it's way to the girl's side.

Purple irises watched the girl breath, and he felt a small thing stir inside of him, like she was going to be the most important thing to ever enter his life. Like she was going to change everything he stood for. Like one decision she made changed the entire course of his life.

Cubellios made a long hissing sound and the girl shifted to face her. "Loke, if that's yo-" her voice was broken and dry and it was cut short but a little scream that left her throat as she realized just who she was talking too. She tumbled off the side of the bed and Cobra almost moved to catch her but he was completely shocked by his instinct. She gasped as she discovered her wound and it took her a few seconds to regain her composure. It had seemed she hadn't noticed him when her head peeked over the edge of the bed to meet Cubellios' eyes. "You're bigger than I am," she said softly. Her hand was hesitant at first but she patted the snake softly. It was then her eyes moved to Cobra. His breath got, only slightly, caught in his throat when her brown eyes were prettier than brown eyes should be.

He closed his own eyes to hide hers from him and inhaled. "You're bleeding."

~JM~

Erza's entire world crumbled with a single word. A single name. She almost asked Wendy to repeat it, but she knew she had heard right. After the little dragon slayer had explained how she had escaped, a little running there, and a little well timed magic there, she had told them what she had done. Tears, snot and all. Natsu was already beginning to ask exactly what she meant. But stopped when Gray gave him a pointed look.

Both guys gave Erza a look before she turned away. "We can deal with that later, Wendy can you heal Gray and Natsu, Angel broke…." she trailer off and sighed. "Just heal them."

Wendy wiped away tears and choked back a sob, "Okay," she sat by the two and warm light emitted from her hands.

Erza looked away, her hand running over the tender skin of her arms, they still held a pink hue from being healed. She tugged at her cloth shirt and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked sadly at the ground and her magic swelled around her, in a flash of light her normal armour appeared over her. She looked down at her iron clad hands and clenched her fist.

She caught Gray's gaze and his eyes seemed to ask, "Are you going?"

She smiled and gave a small nod. He nodded back and waited till Natsu was done being healed before tackling him to the ground.

"Thank you," she whispered before sprinting off into the direction of the blinding pillar.

"Erza!?" Natsu's voice yelled from behind. "Gray, get off!" He struggled against the ice mage. "I'll kill him! She can't go see him! He'll only make her cry again!" He fought back tears, as he watched her run.

~JM~

Wendy watched as Lucy and Cobra left with Racer, but she jumped when the man she was healing groaned. Her magic faltered and Brain slammed his staff on the ground. "Hurry up!" He commanded.

Wendy glared at the man and her magic flared up again, she watched and worked with extreme precision as she forced the entheron to leave his body. It was several minutes later when he stirred again, his brown eyes opening slightly.

Brain laughed and threw Wendy away from the waking mage. The sky maiden released a short scream as she was shoved to the ground, and was shocked when Angel came up to kneel beside her and pull her farther away from the crazed man.

Jellal snapped his chains with ease and stepped forward, his eyes slowly moved around the room. They laid and stalled slightly on Brain but he found the cave exit and took a step towards it.

"Jellal! Where are you going? Don't you remember me?" Brain said excitedly, but he couldn't hide the confusion that laced his voice.

Jellal's bored gaze found Brain's again and a sudden swell of magic surrounded Jellal and exploded towards Brain. The blue haired man watched with little interest as Brain was launched into the cave wall.

And without a glance to the other four mages he disappeared with a flurry of golden swirls.

~JM~

Cobra huffed as he watched Angel and Lucy leave to go shopping, he leaned back in his chair and looked at the uneven planks of the ceiling. It had only been a few hours since she had woken up in the infirmary and he couldn't shake the feeling that she was going to fuck him up.

It was just something that jumped into his throat whenever he would look at her, whether it was his stomach, heart or every organ at once. He scoffed as he stood, "Fuck me," he mumbled as he made his way to the back storage room.

It was a while before he found what he was looking for and it had an entire seven layers of dust on it. He scoffed again, he kept question why he was doing this but every time he would stop and try to return to his room a nagging sounded in the back of his head.

So he just cursed as he pulled the white bedframe and headboard out of storage room, he slid it into the bedroom and set it up like he had heard.

He returned with a mattress, still wrapped in old plastic. He grumbled as he slammed it on the bed frame, and he jumped as Racer spoke up, "What are you doing?"

Cobra was surprised he didn't hear the man come in, he scowled and shook his head, ridding it of the thoughts that clouded his mind.

"Uh, I was bored, he said lamely. Racer raised his eyebrows and Cobra heard his doubts. "Shut up, My actions are my own, I did it because I wanted too," Racer raised his eyebrows even higher. "Leave me the fuck alone."

The speed mage chuckled and left, leaving the snake charmer with an embarrassed look on his face.

~JM~

Lucy coughed as she rolled off Cobra, both the mages rubbed at small aches and pains as they stood. "What was that?" Lucy asked.

Cobra shook the dirt out of his hair and coughed. His eyes were wide once he looked up again, his pupils contracting as the bright light blinded him. "No way, Brain actually fucking did it."

Lucy gave him a blank stare, "He did it? That's Nirvana?"

Cobra nodded but stiffened when he heard the slight emotion in her voice, he didn't say anything to reassure her. He gave her one last long look before he turned towards the light again. "Why'd you tackle me?" He asked after a little while.

She looked at him, "Because you're important."

His eyes widened slightly as he heard the words, "To who?"

"Me."

"That doesn't make sense, the spel-" Realization cut off his words. He was important to her. That was impossible, she couldn't feel. But the spell had to attach to someone. "Lucy?" He said carefully, she looked at him. "Would you protect me? If I was going to die, would you save me? Even if it costs your life?"

She blinked slowly, "Yes."

 _-no-_

Cobra coughed and dropped his face into his hands. "Holy shit. That son of a bitch. Oh my fucking-" he groaned as he dropped to the ground. "He's fucking with me!" Cobra laughed but it was more in disbelief than amusement.

Lucy looked down, her gaze latching onto him.

 _-please no-_

"He bound the spell to me!? That sadistic bastard! Jesus Christ! Why me?! Why now!? Why couldn't of he just do this since the beginning so you wouldn't of showed us you! Your personality! The way you speak and the way you move! The things you do and say! To me, to Angel. To all of us! Why did you have to make us care! To show us so much kindness and trust even though we never deserved it!" He was standing now, yelling at her.

Lucy stepped back a bit to keep away from the small beads of poison that flew from his flailing hands.

His chest was heaving, from both his beating heart and heavy breaths. His eyes softened once he realized he was yelling at an empty shell.

"You showed us you, Lucy. The beautiful, witty, spitfire woman that was you," he looked away from her golden eyes and smiled at the trees. "You made us care, you made us feel a bitter resentment for a man that we all trusted and followed. In all my years I have never defied that man, but I just did. By trying to get save you. By trusting, caring about you."

He laughed. He met her eyes. He smiled. He turned away. Cobra knew that he would have never said that if she was herself. He wouldn't give the little blonde the satisfaction. But he needed to get it off his chest, to rid it from his being. But saying something out loud doesn't banish it.

It just makes it real.

And he knew that once he turned around again, golden eyes, wide and teary. Salty pools glistened in her eyes and he was in front of her in a second. Kneeling where her knees brought her to the ground. A shaky breath left him as his eyes widened. The brilliant gold he had learned to hate, dimmed and her eyes widened as they flickered brown.


	15. Running Makes the Heart Beat Faster

**Just Misunderstood**

 **Chapter 14**

 **Running Makes the Heart Beat Faster**

 **I'm not really happy with the end of this chapter, and you'll see why. It was really wordy at first and kind of droned on. I shortened it and now it seems really quick. I shoved a lot of emotion into a small place, but it was the best I could do at the moment. There doesn't seem to be a happy medium.**

* * *

"Would you protect me? If I was going to die, would you save me? Even if it costs your life?"

Lucy blinked and rolled the question around. It was a dumb question, of course, she would. It was the only thing she knew. The only thought that drowned out the emptiness of her mind, "Yes."

The man coughed, almost like he was scoffing but the sound got caught in his throat. His face fell into his hands. "Holy shit. That son of a bitch. Oh my fucking-," he groaned as he sat back on his heels. "He's fucking with me!" Lucy watched as he laughed but even she could tell he was just trying to process the situation.

Lucy looked down, to his eyes.

"He bound the spell to me!? That sadistic bastard! Jesus Christ! Why me?! Why now!? Why couldn't of he just do this since the beginning so you wouldn't have shown us you! Your personality! The way you speak and the way you move! The things you do and say! To me, to Angel. To all of us! Why did you have to make us care! To show us so much kindness and trust even though we never deserved it!" He stood up quickly, his hands waving angrily and she stepped back to escape the poison.

His chest was heaving, and he stood silent for several moments before the anger fled from his features. He took a shaky breath before his mouth opened again.

"You showed us you. The beautiful, witty, spitfire woman that was _you,_ " he looked away from her and he smiled fondly at the trees. "You made us care, you made us feel a bitter resentment for a man that we _all_ trusted and followed. In all my years I have never defied that man, but I just did. By trying to get _save_ you. By trusting, caring about you."

A wave of faint emotions crashed onto her, her chest constricted suddenly and she stepped back. Her hand went to her chest as he turned away from her. She clenched her shirt to help the pain that settled deep within her heart.

- _they trust me-_

An indestructible dam cracked. It cracked like a solid lacrima on concert. And tiny slivers of what was held behind slipped out.

- _they care about me-_

She wanted to speak but when her mouth opened nothing came out. A dry lump formed in her throat and she touched her face as tears leaked from her eyes.

She looked up to Cobra when he turned around. In a painfully slow sec, nd his eyes widened and her knees buckled and she fell to them. He was there before she even hit the ground. His face was under hers and he looked up, his eyes darted from one eye to the other. His palm rested against her lower thigh the other went to her neck.

"Lucy?"

Her breath left her lungs and her heart leapt into her throat, every organ in her body leapt into her throat. She couldn't breath, she couldn't think. She heard every single sound but also heard nothing at all. She saw nothing but his face. His beautiful eyes. Light purple, with swirls of dark pigment. Little flecks of gold, like most eyes had. But she couldn't help but think they looked like her magic.

- _he said my name-_

That thought silenced everything in her world. She had never heard that name fall from his lips. But she wanted to hear it again. From him. It was her, not Lucillia. Not Princess. Not anything else but _her._

Cobra watched her eyes, they were solid brown, but he saw the golden light glowing dimly behind the dark color. Her mind was cloudy, he could tell even without her necklace off. He could see it in her eyes.

"Lucy?" He whispered again.

She closed her eyes. Tears leaked out from under the lids and she clenched them tight.

Her head filled with pain and she held it with her hands.

"Please make it stop," she looked at him. Brown faded into the background and she rocked back and forward. She fisted her hands into her hair and sobbed.

Cobra pulled her into his lap, he went to say something but was cut off when she stopped rocking. She inhaled deeply and hugged him. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her face was buried into his neck. "I'm so sorry," she whispered painfully.

Cobra almost smiled. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

But again, Cobra realized that anything you say has the chance to become a reality.

She pulled her head back and gold met his eyes. Her face was passive, nothing showing in her features.

"You're right," her voice came out quiet.

Cobra looked back in shock.

- _I'm so sorry-_

She was apologizing for leaving again. For being taken away again.

She stood, breaking free of his grip.

"Logically we should make our ranks stronger," she said calmly.

Cobra stood slowly.

- _you see a future-_

He shook his head.

- _painted in silver and gold-_

He shook his head.

 _-you're more than you were-_

He watched Lucy walk away, like everything that had happened in the past ten minutes…. didn't happen.

"Damn, I'm one strong anchor. That spell holds well," he laughed.

- _then just break it-_

He followed after her.

 _-follow the light-_

~JM~

 _I stood alone. Darkness surrounded me. I turned in a circle, panic filled my heart. Where was I? My eyes narrowed on the tiniest piece of light. So far away. I ran towards it. I sprinted, I have never moved so fast. But I had no idea why I was running to it. I had no idea what I was running too, but every nerve in my body screamed at me. I ran faster. It grew brighter and stronger, then just as I reached it, it folded in on itself. It was a little orb of light, dim and in pain. I could tell. It seemed to scream and whimper, little flares of purple left it. I was hesitant but I reached my hand out._

 _I had to touch it. It was painful urge inside of my chest. I had too. I needed too. I felt a swelling in my chest, one could call it respect, inspiration, caring, love. I shook my head at the last one. I didn't know what that felt like._

 _As my hand got closer the orb glowed a little brighter, but when I touched it. Holy fuck, when I touched it. My entire body exploded with warmth as the orb filled the entire space with light._

"Cobra!" A harsh voice woke him. His eyes snapped open and he looked down as his body held another to the ground. Lucy's gold eyes met his and he snapped to the side as Angel called his name again.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

He looked down again, his right hand was tangled in Lucy's hair and the other one rest on her hip. His eyes widened as he sat up, his hand brushing against her keys.

Then suddenly, he was on his back, the wind knocked out of his lungs. A small hand was on his chest and he met gold. Her eyes shone with anger and hate. Her hand held her keys in them and Cobra put his hands up.

"Jesus Christ! Calm down!" He snapped at her.

Her breathing was heavy and Cobra could hear her heart beat rapidly. She stood violently and turned away from him.

Cobra's eyes widened and he stood. "Lucy? I thought you weren't supposed to feel anything," he whispered in her ear, "Why are you being so protective over your keys?"

Lucy turned around angrily and her eyes burned. She growled at the man and ripped her keys off the chain, in one swift movement they were lying at Angel's feet. Seven little pieces of gold and silver shone in be dimming light.

"Keep them, not like I need them anyway," Lucy said before she walked away.

Cobra whistled. Angel picked up the keys. "What was that?"

Cobra smirked, "That my little Angel was anger, resentment, pride," he stopped for a moment, "That was emotion."

~JM~

"Well maybe if you weren't sleeping all the time," Brain reprimanded.

"What the hell? I took two naps. Fuck off. Midnight is always sleeping," Cobra huffed. He walked beside Brain, the rest of the Oracion Seis following closely behind. They walked towards the pillar of light they knew was Nirvana.

"Nevermind that, they have their healer back. Jellal is crazed, Fairy Tail is released and Racer is injured. We do not need any more setbacks."

"Erza is in love with Jellal. Natsu and Gray can hardly fight me, Wendy is weakened. And three are so injured that not even the sky maiden could heal them in time to help," Lucy said as she stepped up to walk with them.

Brain's eyes widened, "So maximizing the spell completely voided emotions and allowed her memories to return."

Cobra choked on his spit and coughed. "Yeah," he groaned out, "Her emotions are gone, checked without the necklace," he locked eyes with Lucy and she cocked her head.

He looked away. "Completely empty."

Brain glared at the snake charmer and his magic sparked under his skin. "How long are you going to resent me? I did what I had to do to get Nirvana. She is an asset, but her emotions are a problem."

Cobra wiped around and caught himself before he punted his master into next year. He calmed the fury that sizzled in his chest and looked away.

 _-her emotions aren't a problem-_

Brain caught the look of hate and brushed it off. "Choose your actions well, Erik. Don't let a little girl ruin everything you've worked for."

"You've worked for, I was just following orders because I owe you my life. I by no means like you Brain. And I think you've gotten the wrong impression. I'm not here for you anymore." Cobra scoffed and walked away from his master, his pace quickening when a flare of green shone in the trees.

"Then for whom?" The man ground out.

Cobra's eyes caught Lucy's and then Angel's. Then Racer's, Hoteyes', Midnight's. All of them, he thought about it. But his eyes latched onto Lucy's again, "For myself," his breath caught, "For the little light I have left."

"Oh, please. You have shadows inside of you that even the light can't reach."

"But he also has light and brilliance that the shadows can't touch."

Everyone's eyes snapped to Lucy, who spoke quietly, Cobra nearly tackled her but stopped when he saw the gold strong in her eyes.

He thought she was going through another flicker, but no brown was there. Thank god, Brain did not need to know that she was fighting the spell. But then the words truly settled within him, she wasn't saying that just to say that, she wasn't begging for her life, or trying to get something from him. That was the truth, in her mind.

Cobra exhaled a shaky breath and turned away before he let Brain see how the words had affected him.

They continued to walk in silence and it was several minutes before they began to feel the rumbling of the pillar under the ground. They stopped when Brain raised a hand, his other holding a finger to his lips.

Suddenly a frozen arrow whistled through the air, Cobra stepped away and it landed harmlessly in the dirt. Several pairs of eyes turned to see a wall of fire roar towards them. Lucy was gone with a deep breath and reappeared in between her guild and the wall. A roar sprung from her mouth to rival the burning flames. The two elements fought in the air for several moments before the mages had to come up for air.

Natsu emerged from the smoke, he smirked. "Nice, Luce. So what Erza said was true. You're a dragon slayer now."

A block of ice appeared above Lucy and all she had time to do was look up before it dropped, panic filled her and she covered her head.

A hand wrapped around her arm and the familiar smell of poison filled her nose. She looked up and Cobra stood over her, his hand covered in his magic as a cylinder shaped hole kept them safe from the dense block.

Lucy rested her hand against the cold surface as the rest of the ice melted away in seconds.

"Go Brain, we'll handle this," Lucy said to her master.

"Racer, stay with them," he commanded as the rest of them disappeared into green sparks.

The speed mage joined the other two mages and they faced the Fairy Tail wizards. "Three against two? We've already won," Cobra smirked.

"Yeah right, now you might actually stand a chance," Gray chimed.

Lucy pulled her cape from her shirt and dropped it, she pulled her detachable sleeves from her shoulders and they slid off her arms. Cobra smiled and shrugged off his cost, his shirt now exposing his arms. Racer rolled his eyes, "I'm wearing a bodysuit."

Cobra rolled his eyes back, "Your own fault."

Natsu smiled, his eyes meeting Lucy's, "I've kinda always wanted to have a serious fight with you."

Lucy nodded, "Me too."

Cobra's smile widened and he clapped her on the shoulder. "I'll take Gray," he stepped forward and Cobra was gone in a blur of movement, his knee connected with Gray's stomach and they both were hidden as he flew into the dense forest.

A sudden wave of heat reminded Lucy about the flame mage that stood a few meters in front of her.

"Racer, go and see if Cobra needs any help, I hear the other ice mage coming closer," she looked back at him, "Two versus two."

Racer nodded and was gone.

Natsu physically relaxed and a heavy breath left his mouth. "I was talking to Erza, after you sent her to the spirit world," Lucy chose not to dwell on the fact that one of her spirits betrayed her and continued listening, "She said that Brian must have tied another person into the spell. She said a spell this strong needed a living anchor. A person." Natsu stepped forward. "Someone you will protect with your life."

Lucy stepped back as he took another step.

"Is it Cobra?"

Lucy didn't say anything.

"You know if it is, we will find a way," he stopped to watch her expression. "To kill him."

He barely had time to watch her expression flash into a pure rage before she came flying at him. Deep swirls of purple swallowed gold and he pulled up on some flames that were burning on the ground. The fire flared up at her but just when the flames touched her she was gone.

Natsu inhaled deeply and found her scent completely gone, he whirled around and put his hands up as a furious orb of magic was thrown at him. It hit his forearm and he felt a screaming pain as the spirit world summoned him. He reacted quickly and covered his body in flames. His eyes were wide as her magic bubbled and melted under the intense pressure of his own.

His flames vanished as he blocked a kick, where her foot touched his arm, magic was left dancing on his skin, the gold burning at the flesh. He cried out and covered it with a flaming hand.

"So this is what being burned feels like," he inhaled, "Got to admit, not a fun experience."

Lucy almost smiled.

Lucy watched as he inhaled and she disappeared to do the same. They roared, the magic swirling where it met and burning each other out of existence. Natsu flew towards her, his body covered in the fire of his father. Lucy did the same, her body glowing until gold and purple prominences danced along her skin. She rose to meet him and they clashed. Purple burned the orange and orange devoured gold. A strong arm pulled her down and fire burned her arm. A short cry left her mouth and pulled away from him. She crashed to the ground and Natsu went to jump on her, she rolled to the side and kicked him, his fire dispersing and his body colliding with a tree. "Are you pulling your punches?" Lucy asked once she stood.

"Just a little bit," he smiled as he threw a ball of fire at her, she stepped to the side and Natsu used the diversion to tackle her. She cried out as his hands gripped her wrists hard, he pinned her to the ground. "So tell me, please Luce, why did you join them?"

Lucy stopped struggling and looked at him. "Because when I got back you weren't there," Natsu flinched, "I got back to Magnolia. I was so excited. And you weren't there. I thought you guys were dead."

"We were in Edolas, a different world, Mystogan was really Jellal, Gray wore clothes, Erza was the bad guy and you were a leather-cladded guild master," he smiled, "I was so happy to see you again. To hold you again," he looked up as tears built, "I felt so awful, Lisanna came back and all I could do was wish she was you. Do you know what that feels like? I hated myself."

His eyes moved down to hers, the unnatural gold flickered slightly. It flashed to brown, then to gold, brown, gold, brown.

His eyes widened.

-JM-

Cobra coughed as cold mist dried his throat. "Racer!" He yelled when the mage was thrown into the ground, he didn't move.

The dragon slayer growled at the two ice mages. They stood tall and proud, both were badly hurt. But arrogance shone on their faces and they looked down on the snake charmer.

"Ah, don't get so cocky just because you found out Racer's magic," Cobra stood and winced as his frozen joints cracked. The cold sucked ass.

"You got me last time, Cobra. Not again," Lyon spoke. Cobra listened, and his smile widened.

"But it seems I already have."

Lyon flinched as he held his poisoned arm, the purple was rapidly traveling up as it moved through his bloodstream.

Gray clapped his hands together and ice spikes flew towards Cobra, after dodging he was flung to the side by another ice dragon.

 _Motherfucker, ice doesn't think._

He jumped up and rolled as a sword was plunged into the ground where he had been. Gray yelled as he pulled the sword out and swung at Cobra. He dodged over and over again.

His eyes darted to the other mage as he gripped his arm in pain and fell to his knees.

"Hey, might want to get your friend some help?" He added as he broke the ice sword.

"Fuck," Gray muttered, his gaze fluttered between Cobra and Lyon.

Cobra put his hands up, "Hey I won't it against you. I gotta go stop Lucy from killing the fire slayer."

Gray stood there for a moment processing, his eyes mimicking his mind's confusion. "I'm serious, get him some help. The poison is fast-acting and I don't want to give Brain the satisfaction of killing one of you."

Gray smiled. "What is with you? You've gotten Lucy to trust you, Brain resents you, we saw that when he put the spell on Lucy, and now you're letting your enemy walk away because they're injured?"

Cobra rolled his eyes, "Why don't you just take the gift and let me go. This isn't about you. This is about me, Lucy and the slayer," he almost growled before turning sharply back into the forest.

Gray watched as he left. His first thought was to go after him, finish him, get Lucy and bring her back. But a deep nagging settled within him, almost like he knew she would be safest with Cobra. Gray quickly shook that thought from his head and picked Lyon up, the deep, angry poison ate at his pale skin and the ice mage groaned.

"I got you, everything's going to be fine."

~JM~

Cobra heard the sounds of battle cease and his pace quickened. His heart raced, Natsu's inner turmoil reached his ears, desperation, sorrow, devastation, regret. He wouldn't kill her right? Cobra broke out into a run.

 _No thoughts from her._

That was usual though.

 _That doesn't slow your heart._

Running causes the heart to race.

 _So does something else._

Cobra broke through the heavy brush and into the clearing he knew he had left the two in. Pink. Blonde. Onyx. Brown. Brown.. Brown…

 _Brown._

Unspeakable joy swelled in his chest, a light weight that settled on his shoulders and made him feel safe. Then unbearable sorrow filled his stomach, a heavy presence that developed in his throat and made him feel sick.

Her arms were wrapped around his neck, his face buried in her hair. A tight embrace that was filled with emotion, her eyes were wide and watching him as he stepped forward. Natsu picked her up, his arm under her knees and the other supporting her back. Cobra looked down, his ears catching the sound of fire burning wood. He tried to focus on it, to look at anything other than them. His eyes slid to the small fires that were scattered throughout the clearing. He looked at the dry grass, the ants, the flowers. Natsu stood straight, Lucy clung to his neck. She was weak and tired, anyone could tell. Onyx green met purple.

"I don't know what happened," he whispered.

"A flicker. It has happened once before," Cobra's voice was quiet.

Natsu nodded, "I'm taking her back."

Cobra just stared at the ground, he shook his head. "Fine. Just. Jus-," he ran a hair through his hair, "Just watch her okay?"

He nodded. He turned. Lucy's half open lids opened fully. Her head perked up as she saw Cobra getting farther away, but she soon realized she was being carried, while he was staying still.

 _Why would he let me go?_

She threw herself against Natsu's shoulder and he stumbled a bit, "Lucy?!" He yelled in shock. She struggled away and fell on her knees, her legs not holding her up. She reached for Cobra as she felt gold pulling on brown. She crawled and Cobra met her halfway, his knees hitting the ground and his arms pulling her up to sit. She tried to ignore the calls of Natsu and focused on Cobra. Tears filled her eyes and she grabbed something out of her pocket, the metal was cold in his hand as she pressed it into her palm.

"Please, help me," she whispered.

She wiped her tears away, and turned to Natsu, his own were teary and confused. She pointed at Cobra, "Let me stay with him until I'm better again, Natsu. I'm so sorry. Only he can figure it out, no one else."

He stepped back, and what felt like centuries was actually seconds as his heart clenched. He choked out a confirmation and wiped his face. "I'll be waiting for your return. I'll leave her to you, Cobra. She trusts you, I don't. But I don't know what to do. But for now," he looked towards Nirvana. "I have to kill Brain." In a little gust of movement, he was gone.

Cobra closed his eyes.

 _I let my emotions get the better of me._

He looked down at Lucy, who was trembling. Her skin was cold but sweat coated her body. Her eyes were glazed and wide, shuffling between gold and brown. He laid her down in the grass and pulled his jacket and her cape over to cover her. He stood violently as he watched her eyes close.

He paced, his mind going over his lack of control. He had never had this problem before. He had always been good with emotion, able to conceal it or even completely obliterate it if necessary.

A vibrating warmth drew his attention to his clenched hand, the piece of metal still buried.

Cobra's breath shook as he opened his hand, and in the light of the sun, a single golden key sparkled.


	16. Emotion

**Just Misunderstood**

 **Chapter 15**

 **Emotion**

* * *

Natsu wiped tears away as he ran towards the blinding pillar of light. Lush green forest surrounded him, animals of every kind, beautiful flowers dotted the ground. But in all the beauty around him he only felt hate. Natsu had never, _never_ hated someone before, no enemy had ever deserved his hate. Not even Gajeel, and Jellal, Lyon, Laxus. They were all just lost, even if they did horrible things in the process of finding their way. He never hated them, not even a little.

But, in that moment, Natsu hated Brain. He had manipulated Lucy in her time of need, made her feel wanted when she was really being used. He preyed on people's fears and vulnerabilities. He didn't care who he hurt, even if it was his own guild. He was the worst kind of person.

Natsu wanted to hate Cobra. But couldn't bring himself to do it. Cobra was using Lucy too. Exploiting her weaknesses. But he couldn't hate him. Maybe that was because Natsu knew that on some, deep, level that the poison slayer didn't want Lucy to get hurt. He might even miss the old her. Natsu almost asked himself why the slayer was suddenly so attached to the blonde.

But he already knew. This was Lucy. She is able to warm the coldest hearts with merely her smile, she was so kind, forgiving, strong, fiery. She trusts so easily, she loves with her entire heart. But she also was insecure, and scared a lot. Lucy never thought she was strong, and for that she thought it was her fault that Loke, Elfman, Erza and everyone else got hurt during Phantom Lord.

Natsu knew this even without her telling him. He knew she would burden the guilt on her own, because that's just the type of person she is.

And then there's Cobra, who has probably never felt real human love in his life. That was usually the case with wizards who joined dark guilds. They didn't have a family, or true friends so they went to the darker side. So when Lucy showed up and showed him a chance at real human intimacy he fell a lot harder than he should of.

After all, it had only been four days.

Natsu's thoughts were silenced when he was thrown violently against a tree. He groaned and looked up as a figure stood over him.

"Natsu Dragneel, you've been a problem," Brain's cold voice reached his ears.

~JM~

Angel stumbled into the clearing with Midnight close behind her. Cobra's heard them and their questioning thoughts as he sat next to a sleeping Lucy. "Another flicker happened," he whispered. "She chose to stay with me. She left Natsu for me," his eyes were wide looking towards a patch of grass. Angel went to kneel next to him but Midnight grabbed her arm, he shook his head and she looked at him in confusion. Cobra laughed, one that wasn't sarcastic, one that wasn't malicious. It was pure unadulterated joy. He stood and whirled towards the two, "She said I was the only one to help her! She chose me over Natsu! Ha!" He smiled wide. He went and hugged Angel, spinning her around in circles.

"Calm down!" Angel scolded as she struggled from his grasp, "Why are you so happy about it?"

His stilled and silence filled the space. He didn't have time to answer when Angel's eyes caught the gleam of something on the ground. "What is that?" She raced to it, her knees sliding on the grass, she grabbed it and her eyes wiped to Cobra's.

"Lucy gave it to me before she went back?" He said, his eyebrows raising at her reaction.

"Did she say anything?"

"Uh, she said that she needed help and that I was the only one that could help her," he said as he grabbed the key out of her hand.

"Well? Are you fucking dumb?" Angel scoffed as she took the key back.

"Excuse me?" He growled.

"You idiot! You touched the keys and she attacked you. She gave me all of her keys except for one, and now she gave you that one, during a flicker no less, and you still can't figure it out," she threw her hands up in anger.

"I normally would from your thoughts but Jesus fuck Angel your mind is so fucking cluttered right now," he complained.

"Erik! You are not the anchor!" She threw the key at his chest and he caught it, "Leo is!"

"No wa-," his own words were cut off by his thoughts. Suddenly every thought in all of their minds became clear to hear. Cobra slumped to the ground. His knees pressing against the soft grass. His eyes moved to Lucy, whose own were closed. It was silent, Midnight and Angel quiet as Cobra contemplated the meaning of all this. "I'm not the anchor?" He whispered quietly. "That makes zero sense, she said she would die for me. She protected me, that's from the spell, that's the only explanation."

"Maybe her feelings for you are so strong that it's fighting through the spell," Angel said as she rubbed his back.

"But that," he took a deep breath, "She didn't feel that way with Natsu, or the others? Why would it push through for me? She barely likes me."

Midnight stepped to the blonde laying on the ground, he dropped gracefully and tucked her hair away from her face then leaned back on his hands. "She cares for you, just like you care for her."

Cobra shook his head, "No, not to this extreme, I mean yeah I don't hate her like I did and I wouldn't kill her myself but I wouldn't die for her," he looked away, "Just like how she wouldn't die for me."

Angel rolled her eyes and scoffed, "You wouldn't? Really?"

Cobra found a piece of grass suddenly very interesting and his ears twitch as he heard her smug thoughts. "I have only known her a few days," he said quietly.

"So? You have combed through her thoughts, you have combed through her life. You know everything she has ever heard, seen or done. You know every word she had spoken and every thought she has thought. Please, don't ruin this. You have such a good chance here. You are allowed to care Erik. They took so much away from us in that tower, we deserve to care for people and not feel guilty. We deserve to feel things other than rage and hatred."

Cobra's eyes closed tight as tears burned on his lids, Cubellios wrapped herself tightly around his leg, her head settling on his thigh, her tongue flicking in confirmation. "I have never wanted any of this Sorano. I just wanted to hear her voice, just once. But even now," his eyes met Cubellios, "I can't hear anything. I don't want this anymore. I was just following Brain because I owe him my life. I never wanted it to get this far," Cobra violently wiped tears from his face, but his actions were futile as more just replaced the old.

Angel's eyes filled as she watched the strongest man she knew breakdown in front of her. "Erik… you have found a way to escape," she looked towards Lucy, "Use it."

The clearing was silence once again as the duo ceased talking, it was a comfortable silence. One where they thought and spoke without words. Cobra listened closely to the thoughts of the other two, hearing their growing denial and resentment.

~JM~

Erza fought tears as she stood just a few feet away from the man she loved.

His own eyes widened as she spoke the words of his past, the things he had done. His mind was exploding with thoughts, as he continued to drown himself in the feeling of no memories.

"Erza?" He mumbled and more tears came to both of them.

She heard the words of self-hatred and negativity that left his mouth, then purple rings of magic began to grow on his chest, the same magic that he had just put on Nirvana, to destroy it forever. And as his limp body fell back, with the suicidal thoughts of a possessed man, she ran to him. Tears cascading down her face, as her armored heart beat wildly in her chest. Pleads and cries left her mouth, word of love and loss. Painful thoughts that struck deep within him.

In that moment, as her beautiful words graced him, the purple melted away from both the locations it had been. With relief and vulnerability, her armor began to crack off, the metal that was concealing her body disappearing and showing her softly clothed body.

Jellal smiled and his fingers went to play with the small lace that hung from her shirt.

"An armored heart will beat without the metal and warm the chest of a hated man."

~JM~

Lucy woke up to a clear blue sky, it greeted her happily and the tips of trees waved their hellos. Green and brown mixed together to create the forest around her. A slight smile almost graced her lips, then suddenly dark clouds and strong wind swept in. And then she heard the terrible roar of Nirvana as the angry pillar of darkness settled into the atmosphere. She sat up quickly, a white coat falling off of her form. The wild wind shook her to the bone and she slipped the large cost on and wrapped it around her. She was alone.

Nirvana, obviously widening, was just now several meters in front of her, she watched how the ground around the pillar cracked and crumble into the powerful magic as it ate away at the forest, a sudden shock wave blew out across the forest and the trees melted away into darkness, small particles of death floated up from the ground and rose to the sky. She stepped back and ran into a hard chest, she looked up and Cobra's eyes narrowed in on hers. He almost backed away when he saw gold.

"You're awake," he started slowly.

"What happened?"

"You passed out after your fight with Natsu. Nirvana is growing, Brain just notified us that Nirvana has the power to turn good, evil and evil, good, at least while it's rising."

Lucy looked to the side to see Angel standing alone, her eyes downcast and her hands clasped together in front of her, "I am not evil. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I never wanted to be this person. I don't want this life anymore. I want to be good, but not even Nirvana, this ancient powerful magic, can turn me good again. Can nothing save me?"

Cobra went to go to her, to comfort and convince her otherwise, but he stopped when Lucy stepped up slowly. "You can not turn something good if it is already. You guys aren't evil," she made eye contact with Cobra, "Just a little unloved and misunderstood."

His breathed hitched, and he bore into her golden eyes. Again, she was saying this because she believed it. Not because it was the nice thing to say. She said it because it was true in every sense of the word. "Really Lucillia? You think that?" A deep voice chuckled as a sudden chill ran through them all. "They are my guild, my family, my pawns. They are evil, have been since the tower. They want power, the power to corrupt, kill and destroy. We want to rule and decimate this kingdom. We want the light guilds to fall. We want the King of this realm to fall to his knees and pledge his allegiance and love to us."

Green mist seeped out of the ground as Brain stepped out of a seemingly hole in space. The sky darkened and his green iris shone with hate and anger. His tattoos, now some missing, joined his eyes as they began to glow with his power. Emerging from the darkness behind Brain Midnight stood. His posture rigid and his face one of panic. His eyes darting between the four mages in front of him. Cobra stiffened as he stepped in front of Lucy, his eyes piercing through Brian's. "Oh? Have you finally chosen a side, Erik?" He nearly sneered.

"There were never any sides. She was loyal to you Brian. To me. It was your greed for her power that drove all of us away." Cobra felt Lucy press into his back. "You betrayed us."

"No, no, no. Listen here. Lucy Heartfillia." She almost flinched at the way he said her name, "You have been turning my knights against me since day one."

"No Brain, you have been turning us against you for years," Angel said as she stepped up, tears shining in her eyes.

Brain snarled and green magic erupted from the ground, "Then I guess I don't need you three anymore!"

"You four," another deep voice said as he stepped into the light.

"Make that five," Racer whistled as he stood next to Hoteye. They both moved to stand next to Cobra, as the said man looked at them in shock and disbelief. Brain's staff snapped in his hand and a yell of rage left him as green spewed out of the ground around the five guild members. Cobra's heart fell into his stomach as his muscles were frozen by the powerful magic. He groaned as he strained to move, using all his strength to turn his head.

Lucy's eyes were wide with panic and silenced fear.

 _-emotion-_

Angel was on her knees along with Hoteye and Racer. The three struggling to even keep their heads up. Cobra watched as Lucy's own buckled and she fell to them, he did as well. Trying his best to get to her.

"Erik?" Lucy whimpered, his heart exploded. The shards impaled his lungs and every organ they could get to. The pieces bounced around his ribcage and he almost whimpered back.

Brain laughed, "Hmmm, what to do? What to do?" He sang.

Cobra pulled himself back, settled right next to the girls and he watched as Brain's toxic gaze held onto Lucy. "Don't fucking touch her," Cobra growled, Brain narrowed his eyes, and snarled.

"You don't give me commands," Brain laughed. Lucy suddenly screamed as the magic on her doubled pushing her completely to the floor.

"No! Stop!" Cobra yelled, he pushed against the magic. He flicked his eyes to Lucy when she called his name desperately quiet. She reached out a trembling hand, and slow, ever so slowly he reached for it. He noticed Lucy's other hand was tangled with Angel's, and hers with Racer's, Racer's with Hoteye's.

Lucy looked towards the dark sky and two orbs of purple magic developed in between their hands. Deep breaths left her, and the scar on her back throbbed painfully, which it hadn't done in a while.

"What are you doing!?" Brain shouted, dropping more weight onto them, screams sounded from them all. "Lucy! No! You might die! Where are you even!?" But the orbs only grew bigger. "No. No! Stop, stop, stop!" Cobra screamed, but Lucy only smiled and closed her eyes. When they opened again, they were solid brown, no eerie gold or slight glow. And then all at once, Cobra saw his guildmates turn into stardust and he felt his spine nearly ripe out of his ass.

 _-no-_

* * *

 **It has been so long. And I know this is a short chapter, but the next chapter will be up very soon.**

 **Remember a few chapters ago when I said that my grandmother was in the hospital? Well, she died on October 10th. It really broke me, she practically raised me and I really don't think I will ever be the same. And I am not telling you this for sympathy or because I want people to feel sorry for me. I am telling you this because I wanted to give you a reasonable explanation on why I have been gone so long. And because it might start impacting my writing style, hopefully in a positive way at least.**

 **I should begin updating again regularly, well as regularly as I did before anyway.**

 **:)**

 **-WreckedProgress**


	17. You Miss Her

**Just Misunderstood**

 **Chapter 16**

 **You Miss Her**

* * *

Cobra screamed loudly as the ground grew closer, his ears picked up the same sounds of terror from his guildmates around him as well. He barely had time to protect his head before he met the ground with a hard thud. The cold concert ate at his skin and he clenched his teeth as he felt Angel, and the others land on his back.

His heart beat wildly, Lucy. The sudden pain in his chest was completely devouring all the other injuries that he bared. He saw her eyes, her face, her body, her tears.

He stood quickly, his eyes scanning the surrounding area, "No fucking way," Angel breathed as she sat up.

Cobra turned to see what she had seen, a salty breeze, a muffled sound of laughter and music, the lazy water of the canal. He shook his head, "No way she could get us this far," he looked up at the new stone of the guild hall and his breath caught. Standing tall and proud in the stillness of the night, was the Fairy Tail guild.

Cobra shook his head, and the rest stood confused next to him. He violently turned and stomped in the opposite direction.

"Cobra where are you going?!" Angel cried, "She put us here for a reason! We need help! Brain is stronger than ever and with Nirvana awake it will be impossible! And none of us, none of us, want to face Midnight!" She ran and got in front of him, pushing against his chest.

He stopped and looked down at her, "I'm not going in there," he growled.

Angel shoved him, he took a step back, catching himself from stumbling. "Sorano, don't."

"No!" She shoved him again, "I finally have a friend! One that isn't broken! One that wasn't raised in that damn tower! One that actually has some good in her! And we aren't even that close yet! But I can't leave her Cobra!"

Cobra grabbed her hands, "We aren't leaving her, this is our guild, our guild master, our problem. I'm not dragging anymore of Lucy's family into this. I'm not letting them get hurt just because we couldn't do our job," he whispered.

Angel fought tears, but ripped her hands from him, wiping her face while turning away. "None of that will matter if she's dead, we need a way to get back, we need more power, we need a light guild, thats unwavering in their faith to save her."

Racer stepped up to hug her, his icy glare focused on Cobra, "Since when did I become the bad guy?"

"We are in a dark guild," Hoteye mentioned to the side, "We are usually the bad guys."

Cobra pinched the bridge of his nose, a deep breath left him. "You know what? Fine. You're not wrong. We can't defeat Brain. It isn't possible, but, with Lucy at full power and with the spell gone. There might be a chance. But not with the Fairy's help."

"Then who?"

Cobra grinned, "Lucy has another family," he looked pointedly at Angel.

Angel cocked her head in confusion for a mere moment before realization dawned on her, "One that can't get hurt," she whispered as a smiled blossomed on her tear stained face. She let go of Racer and stepped forward, she held one hand on her key ring, the other one out in front of her, Leo's key held in between her fingers."Leo! Gate of the Lion!" She shouted, she poured every inch of magic into her hand to fill the key in front of her, willing the Lion's gate to open. Nothing happened for a few moments, a silent stillness settled in the late night. "Loke. Please," she begged, "We know you are the anchor, and we need your help."

Cobra winced when he felt the swell of magic release, Angel screamed and fell back as a gate was violently ripped open in front of her, gold sparkles and light filled the canal area. Loke fell out of the hole in space, his suit unkept and his glasses cracked. He panted heavily as he pulled himself to his knees, sweat ran down his face and he smiled up at Cobra "Damn, Brain's magic is even heavily affecting us in the Spirit World, strong wizard. His magic is insane, crossing even the barrier between worlds."

"We think it's doing that because her spirits are somehow linked to the spell, the Celestial World thrives because of the magic of spirits and their mages, and Lucy is one of the most powerful you have," Angel stood, "Its making it easier to affect the spirit world."

Loke uselessly brushed off his suit and stood tall, "It's also because of the damn lacrima in her, it created an actual object to bind the spell too, and of course the person, well, spirit in this case."

"It was genius on Brain's part, you can't die, so the spell would never break, you aren't an enemy so she would never have to fight you. She hasn't called you out since Brian maximized the spell either. Does Lucy know its you?"

"No, I actually believe she doesn't even know shes under this spell, it affects everything, memories, recognition, thoughts, feelings. She was thinking about Fairy Tail when Brain put the spell on her, it probably ate away at those memories, not completely getting rid of them, but corrupting them enough to confuse her eyes and mind. But I think this spell also feeds on positive emotions, that is why sometimes we see bits of anger and pride. Its allowing the negative through, but with feelings like love and happiness, she is having to push through that herself," Loke sighed and looked at Cobra. "The only thing we can do is get rid of one of the things binding her to this spell."

"Removing a magical lacrima is impossible, its in her blood now," Cobra started.

"No. With the death of the anchor, and the end of this spell, I believe more than anything else in this world and the next, that with my key, as the broken pieces and the golden dust settle into the ground, the Oracion Seis will disband, take this as a last dying wish from an immortal man."

~JM~

Midnight felt fear scorch his face as Cobra and the rest disappeared into a shower of gold. Lucy's hands fell heavy on the ground and her eyes were cracked, Brain watched with rage as her irises flickered between gold and brown.

"What have you done!" Brain yelled, Lucy's body slumped closer to the ground, her breath shallowing and her face pale with lethargy. It was that second that the ground began to rumble, terrible roars of metal and concrete echoed throughout the forest, suddenly trees, grass, and purple flowers all shriveled at once. Black dust slowly seeped out of the ground and the giant pillar of light that had been slowly turning black disappeared as a hole was left in the ground.

Brain's horrible cackle seemingly shook the forest as the magic around Lucy melted away, Brian's attention elsewhere at the moment. She gasped and gagged as her lungs begin to fill with air again. Midnight stepped back and his eyes trained on Lucy and the terrible crack in the ground under her. And as his father's eyes were gleaming evilly at Niravan's eruption, Midnight stepped forward, his body moving as fast as the tear in the ground.

His arm wrapped around her waist and he cursed himself.

~he was doing this for Cobra~

He slung her on his back and she mumbled something he didn't hear. Midnight surrounded himself in magic as a giant concrete arm broke free of the ground right under his feet. He fought to hold his balance on the cylinder slope. Buildings of an ancient world erupted from its prison that day, large towers and crumbling homes rose from the ground, the heavy center of Nirvana was as big as the forest, the six large appengedes struggled to position themselves far enough away to support the weight.

Midnight gaped at the monstrosity, "I thought is was a spell, amulet, maybe a person. I never thought it would be this," he breathed.

His eyes caught Brain's form rising on top of one of the central towers, and Midnight made a split second decision, he ran up the arm, the movement of it making balancing difficult, especially with Lucy on his back.

His red eyes saw Erza Scarlet and Gray Fullbuster along with a few other members falling closely behind him on the arm to his right. He rolled his eyes and continued up the length of the arm, but he stopped when he realized that Brian still had Natsu, he turned to the other mages and glanced at Lucy breathing softly on his neck. He huffed and swallowed hard, "Hey! Fairies!" The wind seemed to carry his voice far enough to reach them and they turned, their expressions turned from surprised to serious. Erza shouted orders at the others when she requipped a suit of armour. Midnight scoffed when he noticed the wings on the back of it, the metal seemingly effortlessly lifting her to the arm he was on, just a few hundred few down, she ran up the concrete, swords twirling around her, Midnight faced her and huffed again. A dozen or more swords flew at him, but Erza stopped in surprise when they effortlessly reflected off of Midnight and fell into the forest below. Midnight rolled his eyes and turned around, showing the scarlet mage Lucy.

"Lucy?"

After her armour disappeared her feet brought her to her friends side, her breath coming out in heavy pants. "Why do you have her?"

"Brain was going to kill her, but Cobra cares about her so I had to help," Midnight almost whispered, a slight blush covering his pale cheeks. He shifted awkwardly and looked towards Brain, "I… I have done some bad things, but Cobra is my best friend, Angel and the rest, are my family. And they all risked their lives for Lucy, so why shouldn't I?"

Erza smiled, "They turned on Brain for her?"

Midnight nodded, "Without a second thought."

Erza laughed and a warm blush crossed her face, "She has that effect on people."

Midnight looked away as the Scarlet Mage laughed, the sound turning his ears red. "I just want to be free, I want to explore and live my life, I want revenge on the people at the tower…. I want it destroyed and gone. I hate that place," Midnight seemed to muse to himself.

"I hated it too," Erza whispered quietly.

Midnight whipped his head around and looked at her with wide eyes, "You were there?"

She nodded, "Yes, and Midnight? Don't worry, it's destroyed, it was blown to pieces, I know, because I was there. And so was Lucy, she helped destroy that awful place, for me.. And maybe she didn't know it at the time, but for all of you too."

Midnight's eyes clouded and he looked away, "I…. Just want to be with Cobra and everyone, I don't think I even care about this anymore, I just want to sleep quietly."

Erza touched his shoulder, and he flinched hard, but didn't push her away, and she didn't let go. "Then help us defeat Brain."

Midnight looked down,"I owe him my life."

"He is only using you," Erza said quietly

~he threw out the others so easily~

He looked into her eyes, and he felt that the strong brown color of her irises should tear him down. To show him that he was nothing, that he was trash. But they only held kindness, and he felt empowered when he looked into them. He nodded and turned, running up the rest of the way with a blonde princess on his back and a fairy queen close behind.

~JM~

Cobra kicked open the door and smiled as it cracked off its hinges. "Cobra! There's a key under the mat!" Angel scolded as she held up the small key.

He laughed and shrugged, "Didn't know?"

"What do you mean you didn't know? Leo literally told us three minutes ago on the way here," Loke sighed as the angel spoke and led the rest upstairs. Cobra sucked in a breath when he walked through the door, the smell of Lucy hit him. He had seen her room multiple times in her memories, the soft pink comforter, the tan wall decorated in landscape photos, the old desk tucked into the corner of the room, where her novel sat on the wooden hutch. Light plush carpet flattened under his boots and he winched when he left muddy tracks, "Shoes off," he muttered to the rest as he slipped his off. The others shared an amused look and did the same.

"Ugh I need a shower," Angel whined.

"Go take one," Loke winked, "I gotta go get what we asked for from the King, it shouldn't take long, only a few minutes, maybe half an hour tops, but that still is a few hours here, get changed, Virgo will drop some stuff off, use some spirit water, sleep, do whatever you need to do," he said as he handed Angel his key, "Keep this for now, call me if you need me before I come back," he smiled and vanished.

Cobra smiled warmly at the spot he had just been , "Thanks, we appreciate it," he whispered.

"Where's the bathroom?" Angel asked.

Cobra nodded towards a hallway to the right, "First on the left," he rubbed blood out of his eyes, he had somehow gotten a deep gash above his right eyebrow, he hadn't even noticed it till now. "Hey Ang? Can you get me a warm wash-," he stopped when a wet cloth was thrown at him, he caught it and smiled.

He pressed it to his forehead and sat down at a table in the middle of the room, Racer looked around, his fingers tracing some of the things Lucy had set up on some shelves. Little porcelain or glass figurine of different animals, they were covered in a layer of dust, there were books cluttered into the different nooks and crannies of the many shelves she had. Binders of stories were color coded along the walls and Racer laughed, "She's pretty inconsistent isn't she?"

Cobra glanced around, "Yeah, it's an organized mess," he smirked, "You should see her mind it's even worse," he laughed.

"I think its cute," Hoteye said as he sat on her bed, his weight causing it to dip a bit, "She is worth a lot," he mused, "priceless."

Cobra nodded, "Sure is," he mumbled tiredly, Hoteye noticed this and moved off the bed, and he picked up Cobra.

"Hey! What the fu-," he yelled as Hoyeye tossed him on to the pink cladded bed.

"You need some sleep Cobra," he said.

Cobra glared at the man and sat up, "I don't want to get blood on her pillows," he huffed as he tried to get up but stopped when he heard the thoughts of the other two in the room. "Alright shit man fine. No need to get all violent with me," he grunted.

Hoteye and Racer shared a smiled and Cobra laid down, he pressed his head against the pillow that smelled like Lucy. He turned around to face the wall, where his eyes clenched tightly and he covered his face.

~you miss her~

* * *

 **I do not own Fairy Tail**


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